Angel of the Underworld
by Evangeline Lockes
Summary: Ester is a girl who has been abused her whole life. One fateful day she escapes and finds herself traveling the U.S. with a punky tomboy. She thinks her life is complete. That is until she runs into a certain coven of vampires in Denali, Alaska and finds out that not everything is as it seems. Not even her. Prologue, Ch. 1, and Ch. 2 revised.
1. Prologue

**First of, hello. I'm glad to tell you all that I've gotten some of my inspiration back and am currently revising my story. It has a much more stable plot now.**

**I thank my friend ****ArkenailCrowson**** for helping me come up with many new ideas and helping me with the old ones as well.**

**Also, thank you to everyone who has followed this story and put up with me. Hopefully I can keep this running this time around.**

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I watched the shadows pass under my bedroom door, hysterically shifting around as my father tried to open it. He couldn't though, I had made sure of that by pushing my heavy wooden bookcase in front of the already locked door along with several other pieces of furniture scattered around my pitch black room. I then was huddled in the farthest corner from the door, wishing this moment would end, that my father hadn't been drinking and that I hadn't angered him by coming out of my room without permission. It was too late to change that though. I settled for just listening to his eerie footsteps on the hardwood floor outside my room, his breathing heavy and haggard.

I jerked back when he suddenly hit the door, making it rattle on it's hinges as a booming crack echoed through my room. Even through the darkness, I could see that one of the door hinges was broken, the metal piece hanging loosely while the door remained firmly in place, kept up by my desk. My sigh of relief was cut short when vicious cackling seeped into depths of my safe haven.

"I swear, Ester, when you come out of there…." His threat trailed off making me cringe and sweat heavily, my eyes wide and mouth gaping as I started silently sobbing. I knew I had to keep quiet because if I made any noise it would make him angrier.

Another blow was given to the door and it began to crack obviously having been hit with something heavy and solid. I scrambled to my feet and grabbed a handful of my curly black hair and tugged at it nervously as I watched the door crack more and more. I needed to find a way out, to get away from the man I once called my father, but it was so dark! The light flooding in from under the door was the only reason I could see the slow deterioration of the barrier keeping me and that mad man apart, but it refused to help light any other part of the darkness around me. If I didn't come up with an escape plan soon I was going to be trapped in a small room together with that man. He would "teach me a lesson" without a doubt if he got to me.

After only a few seconds he stopped attacking the door and I could hear him huff in exhaustion, forcing me into motion as I placed my hands against the wall and started to feel my way around, hoping to find a way out. I moved along slowly but steadily, coming across my messenger bag and jacket, which I kept packed in case I needed to get the hell out of there. I slung the bag over my shoulder and hastily shoved my jacket in when the banging on the door started again. I hit a corner and moved onto the next wall. I knew my window was somewhere here and I had to get to it. It was my only chance. The door was near its end and the furniture wouldn't do much if there wasn't a door to keep in place.

My fingers brushed against cloth and I grabbed a hold of it and frantically pulled down, revealing my small window. The moonlight slunk in like a mischievous white shadow making me squint, my bright green eyes not used to the light regardless of its dimness. I reached for the latch that was keeping me from my freedom but stopped in my tracks when I heard the man speak.

"I don't know why I let you live, I really don't." He said in a heartbroken tone. It was a sickening sound and my heart clenched.

"Dad-" I began before his infuriated voice cut through my words and made me back into the wall slightly.

"No! Don't you dare talk to me, you bitch! You killed my wife, you fucking murdered her!" He screamed in his gruff voice, making my bones rattle. That's when he landed the final blow, tearing apart the last of my bedroom door.

The light flooded in, a dark silhouette shoving at the opposing furniture. As soon as I saw him struggling, I unlocked the window and flung it open before scrambling out onto the roof into the crisp night air. I heard a scream directed at me, but I was too panicked to understand it and ran to the edge of the roof.

_I'm only one story up, I can make it._ I raced off the edge and sped toward the ground below. I landed ungracefully and yelped as a sharp pain shot through my ankle, my teeth ground together at the feeling and tears flowed down my cheeks.

A crash came from the window above me, and I pushed away my pain and staggered to my feet. Looking around quickly I found my best bet was to run through the woods, and so I sprinted into the treetops, causing my foot to feel like it was being ripped off.

I knew I was free though, and that was worth the pain that ripped through me. I knew I didn't have to bear the harsh beatings of that man or the verbal abuse when he didn't have the time to bloody his hands. That I knew.

I wish I had know that the path I chose was much more dangerous than the one I had left behind.

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**Thank you for reading. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 is revised! I'm going to sleep after this so I can let my head figure out how to fix up 2 &amp; 3.**

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I had been running maybe one or two hours before I hit a soggy dirt that was surrounded by empty fields. It was all I could take at the time, having to stop because my ankle had become too swollen and painful to go on. On top of that, when my stomach was growling but looking into my bag, I discovered I only had a few packs of crackers and stale bread. I ate a few crackers then threw everything back into my bag and kept going.

And then I was sat on the side of the road I came across a short distance later, shuffling through what I had, which wasn't much. It was hard making a getaway bag when you had nothing to begin with, and since I had been limping about in mass hysteria caused by my earlier situation I hadn't actually gotten the chance to check what I had for supplies. There were some pencils, a sketchbook, a shirt and a pair of pants, and about twenty dollars along with the bit of food from before. My jacket was still flung around the strap of the bag.

"God damn it." I cursed at my poor excuse of a getaway plan. In reality, there's really nothing I could have done, but I was still urked by my negligence toward this aspect of my life. _Who would be thinking anything through if they were about to be attacked by their psycho father._ Sighing I gathered up my bag and picked a random direction in which the road traveled and followed it.

That man, my 'father', he had been like that as long as I could remember, although he had only recently started to physically attack me. It was nothing of concern prior to last night, it was only occasional threats of physical punishment and maybe a slap if he had been drinking. That night though, I'm sure I wouldn't have been alive to see morning if he had managed to catch me. So I had to run.

My father was my only surviving parent and he had hated me for the past seventeen years of my life. He took on this attitude towards me after the death of my mother, Elizabeth Morgan. My mother had been killed in a car collision twelve years ago. I was only five when it happened and also in the car. I nearly died in the wreckage along with my mother. A knock to my head during the crash and I couldn't even remember what had happened, let alone have done anything to stop it, had I even thought to at the tender age of five.

Nevertheless, my father couldn't seem to understand that and believed, despite all logical answers, that I had brutally murdered the only parent that ever actually loved me. And frankly, it hurt. Not in the physical way like when he beat me but emotionally. It made my insides twist in a random array, making my organs feel as if they are being pulled in all directions, while tears stung my eyes.

Even then I found myself sobbing, standing still on the side of the rural road and feeling my emotions crash down on me. I let them take me down. Sometimes it just became too much and I let go so I could clear my senses enough to feel again. Talking to a friend about these things was never an option, I had never had any, only acquaintances, who in the end would treat me almost as badly as my father. No one home in Chicago would notice that I was gone, or care for that matter. I had nothing. I meant nothing.

So I wept for nothing.

I was so lost in myself that I didn't even hear the truck pull up next to me, or the concerned voice coming from a old, rusty, red trunk. I did notice when a cold hand abruptly landed on my shoulder. I embarrassingly yelped and jumped back in panic, only for a pair of slender arms to wrap around me, pulling me into a chilled embrace. The person was trying to comfort me but, of course, I freaked out and tried to shake them off of me, grabbing and pulling at their arms while wiggling around. Their hold on me never faltered and an angry voice cut off my grunts caused by my struggle.

"Calm the fuck down! I'm not going to hurt you!" My assaulter yelled at me in a _very_ feminine voice. The power in it made me immediately stop struggling, and to my horror, I even whimpered.

"Thank you." The woman behind me sighed. She then let go of me and moved away a bit to give me space to turn around and get a good look at her. I turned as quickly as I could without aggravating my ankle and prepared to tell off whoever had scared me but I nearly swallowed my own tongue at what I saw.

In front of me was a tall woman with just the right amount of curve that was accentuated by a tight, red, plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black skinny jeans. Red converse topped off her outfit. I blushed when I found myself staring at her breasts and quickly found a new beauty to fall into as I whipped my gaze to the woman's face.

She had a heart shaped face that was framed by short jet black hair that was elegantly spiked at the top. Her ears were fully visible and not at all strangely shaped or sized and they were decorated with small red gauges and a silver industrial piercing through her left ear. I followed her strong jaw line with my eyes all the way to her lips that were full and colored a dark, almost black, red.

_I wonder what they would feel like against mine._

I could have kicked myself for thinking like such a creep, feeling my cheeks heat up. A throat was cleared and it seemed the woman was obviously annoyed by my lack of acknowledgement of anything but her body. I looked into her eyes apologetically but my expression turned to one of shock as I looked at them more closely.

They were red.

Right then I felt a burning in my chest. It was small, subtle, and left my body as quick as it came, but it still had been there.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" I blurted uncomfortably before I could stop myself, regretting my big mouth instantly as I saw one of her thin eyebrows arch upward in a 'are you stupid' stance.

"Well, it's nice to meet you too." She snarkily replied, not answering my question and making me look toward the ground in embarrassment. She watched me awhile before sighing and forcing me to look her in the eyes by putting her hand under my chin and pushing it up. I cringed at how cold it was, like ice.

"Listen kid, I'm not angry, okay, got that?" I nodded meekly and she removed her hand, watching me a few moments to make sure I wouldn't look away again before continuing. "I don't know why you are out walking in the middle of nowhere by yourself, and it probably isn't my business, but it's dangerous to wander around on your own so let's do introductions quickly so I can get you to where you need to be." She paused briefly, holding out her hand to me. "I'm Imriska Vance. What's your name?"

I hesitated at first before firmly grabbing her hand in mine. She then pulled me into a straighter stance, which made her grip tighten and I once again became distracted by the frosty feel to it. _Maybe she has poor circulation. _That's even a stretch for being that cold, but my gaze had strayed and I was now just standing there staring at our interlocked hands. Horrified at letting my stupid head wander to the clouds in front of this woman, I tried to quickly introduced myself while I looked back at her face and let go of her hand.

"I-I'm Es..ter…." I so elegantly mumbled. Imriska chuckled slightly and I couldn't help but become mesmerized by the bell like sound of it.

"You're a bit of an airhead." She commented, trying to hold in her laughter, which set me off a little since I felt like she had just greatly insulted me.

"I am not!" I yelled. Her eyes widened at my outburst, and her hands shot up in a gesture of surrender..

"Whoa, calm down, kid. I was joking." The vixen said with a goofy grin plastered on her face, obviously far from actually sorry. She had her hands up in the air in a sign of surrender.

"Would you stop calling me kid. I told you my name, use it!" I snapped.

"You really are a fiery one aren't you, kid?" She asked rhetorically, still using that insufferable nickname and I gave her the most soul shattering glare I could muster, which probably wasn't anywhere near being able to shatter anything.

"Fine, fine, I won't call you that. So… where are you going, _Ester?_" She asked, putting as much emphasis on my name as possible while clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward a bit. I stared at her wondering if it would be a good idea to tell her. But when I thought about it… _I_ didn't even know where I was going, what could go wrong if I told her.

"I'm don't know."

"Really? Well it's not very smart to go on spontaneous adventures around here so tell me where you live and I'll take you home." She said moving towards her truck, but stopping when I neither moved nor spoke. She shuffled over to me and took my face in between her hands, making me look at her concerned face. It was weird seeing someone so worried about me.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, looking me straight in the eyes.

" I... don't have a home." I said, my voice and expression devoid of emotion.

"Oh..." The punky girl said, looking a little uncomfortable. I stood stock still, preparing myself for her rejection, for her to think I'm not worth her time. After all, no one had ever stayed friends with me.

To my surprise, instead of throwing me aside and carrying on her way, she smiled, intertwined our fingers and tugged me forward toward her car.

"Well, then I guess that means you're with me, kid!" She said excitedly, making me stare at her in wonder, not even noticing that she reverted back to calling me kid as she lead me to her truck. She had me get into the passenger seat and in no time we were off, driving down the road in easy silence, the sound of tires on asphalt the only thing to be heard. It was calming, something I had never felt before.

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**Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, and have a dandy day.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Updated.**

**Another thanks to ****ArkenailCrowson**** for helping me and anyone still reading.**

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"So, where do ya want to go?" Imriska asked after about an hour, glancing over at me without her head turning from the road.

_Where do I want to go?_

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "I have no right to say where we have to go. This is your car, you're in charge."

"Well that's not cool. I thought you would have come up with a cool place to go by now." She said with a disappointed look. I glanced at her questioningly but she ignored me and continued, "There must be somewhere you want to go. Besides, I'm bored because I don't have anywhere to be; this is fucking Washington after all, and you…" She pointed at me. "...obviously haven't had the chance to travel a lot based on how you just got into a car with a complete stranger."

_What the hell?_

"You're the one who let a complete stranger into your car! What if I had been a killer or something?" I challenged her, glaring. But my face went blank as soon as I heard her laughter fill the tiny room of the truck. She flicked her ruby eyes toward me and a maniacal smirk curved her dark lips.

"Even if you were a predator, you wouldn't live long enough to do any damage." Her smirk grew and I shrunk back into my seat when her lips pulled up over her teeth revealing abnormally sharp canines. It looked like she was holding onto a single thread of sanity and about to snap at any moment, but her expression quickly changed into one of amusement, catching me by surprise as she started to laugh uncontrollably. Her eyes shut and she leaned forward slightly, holding her stomach with one arm to try and stop her laughing.

"Your face was priceless!" She said once she had calmed her outburst into quiet snickering.

I felt my face heat up, and failed to notice the woman stiffen next to me. Frankly, I was too pissed to notice! How dare she scare me like that.

I sent a glare her way before I turned toward my door and opened it, attempting to get out of the moving vehicle. It was a split second decision but only one of my shoes managed to touch the rough surface of the road before I was yanked back in by the back my shirt. The collar bored into my throat painfully and tears prickled at me eyes. I fell back into a lap and Imriska's infuriated face came into view. I curled back into her lap as she hollered at me.

"What the fuck are you doing?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" She yelled, swiftly putting the truck in park, grabbing the front of my shirt as she opened her door, dragging me out behind her. I struggled the whole way but she pulled me along like I was nothing and I found myself outside on the road in no time. Imriska threw me down onto the asphalt roughly and glared at me.

"I don't know what the fuck you thought you were going to achieve pulling a stunt like that." Imriska took an aggressive step forward making me crawl backward in panic. "If you ever do anything like that again I'll personally kill you myself so you won't have to go to the trouble of doing it. You got that?"

I stared, dumbfounded at the aggression I was being confronted with before I jumped as the woman impatiently growled out at me. I could feel a burning in my chest that was much stronger than the time before, and my eyes watered. Imriska didn't notice.

"I said, do you got that?!" I nodded frantically while she gritted her teeth, the two sharpened teeth from before looking especially menacing.

"Then get the fuck back in the truck before you hurt your ankle more." She said in an agitated tone, gesturing toward the foot she had just wrapped a bit earlier.

Before I could answer she turned back to the truck and got in, slamming the door loudly shut after her. When I didn't move from my place of the ground she smacked her window to get my attention and then pointed to the trunk, telling me to get in. Obviously she didn't want to talk to, or even look at me, so I did as I was told, limping over to the back and climbing into the bed of the trunk. As soon as she knew I was in she started the truck up and we set off once again.

It wasn't until after several hours of driving through dark, deserted city streets and Imriska avoiding every populated area, that my traveling partner decided she would speak to me, but she did so by reaching behind her and propping open the back window with a few magazines that only left enough of a crack to just barely hear each other. She never looked back towards me and I settled my back against the window waiting for her to speak. It was very quiet at first, but Imriska seemed to be uncomfortable with it and finally broke the silence.

"I want to apologize." _Wait, what? _Why is she apologizing? I was the one who overreacted to a joke and threw a fit. "I shouldn't have been so rough with you, I get carried away sometimes and it's a bit much for people who don't know me well. I just- you could have gotten seriously hurt and I don't want that to happen. I'm sorry for scaring you."

The girl really was sweet. Even though she had some serious anger issues and left me out in the trunk for hours, it's easy to tell she doesn't actually want to hurt anyone. Throughout my stay in the dusty trunk she had periodically pulled over and checked on me while she refilled the truck with gas from half-dilapidated, off road gas stations we came across. We never spoke, but it was nice to see the woman's solicitous looks. She made me feel like I wasn't the shadow that everyone had ignored previously in my life.

"I'm sorry for acting like a stuck up bitch. I'm not used to being messed with." _Well, not in a playful way at least._ I then turned to look through the window at her. I was telling the truth, I had acted out and I knew I had as soon as I was banished to the trunk. She glanced back toward me, looking pleased with what I had said before rummaging through the glove box, taking up a U.S. map and passing it through the window.

"So, since we have made amends... why don't you pick someplace to go, hm?" She said in her regular happy go lucky demeanor. I rolled my eyes at her but smiled. I took the map and my eyes immediately fell on one particular state that sat an entire country apart from all the others and from what I knew, a frozen wasteland.

I slowly traced the border of the gigantic stretch of land made only a few inches across on the tiny map, before looking towards Imriska through the window, our eyes meeting as she stared at me in the rear view mirror in a way that said she already knew what I was thinking.

That settled everything.

We were going to Alaska.

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**Please review. I may have still made some mistakes.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Alright, I'm starting to infuse the aspects of the new plot now. Hopefully this works out.**

**Thanks for sticking with me.**

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The uncomfortable feeling of light penetrating my eyelids was the first thing that alerted me that morning had arrived. My mouth moved instinctively, opening and closing slowly to try to rid it of the gross feeling you get when you don't brush your teeth the night before. I opened my eyes slowly, and found a steering wheel in my face. I instinctively jerked my head backwards but the seat cushion stopped me quickly, my head nearly bouncing back into the wheel.

My face scrunched up as I maneuvered myself out of the lying position I had currently been in, my was body folded on top of the long front seat of Imriska's truck. I was fully content until I noticed something. Now, I wasn't sure when I had fallen asleep, _but _Imriska was definitely with me last I remember… And she wasn't now.

Panic started to claw at my stomach as I looked out the window onto a street lined with shops and other such buildings. It wasn't the new scenery that had me so stricken but more the fact that dozens of people and cars were passing.

I hunched over myself and peeked through the window, believing that, for some reason, it would make me invisible to the people outside the door. It was a rather sad attempt seeing as people now looked at me like I was a weirdo…

I kind of was. It was a bit depressing.

Once I realized I looked like a psycho to the outside world I awkwardly straightened up blushing and tried to fix my sleep mussed hair in the mirror on the sun visor. I wasn't very successful though since my curls decided they would go all eye of the tiger on me and wouldn't be a slave to my attempts to fix it. After some more messing around with it I gave up and put it up into a messy bun with a hair binder I found in my bag.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly which cleared my vision enough for me to see a note on the dash. Picking it up I saw that it was from Imriska.

**Hey, kid**

**I had to go get something in town and I probably won't be back for awhile. I put some money in the glove box for you to go get some new clothes, god knows yours are a mess.**

I glanced down at my oversized t-shirt and dingy blue jeans. They really did look like shit but I couldn't help but feel miffed but Imriska's choice of words. I kept reading though.

**Get anything you think you need and then go get something to eat. There is a library nearby, go there when you're done shopping and I'll meet up with you there.**

**Imriska**

There was not just _some_ money in the glove box like Imriska said. There was about a thousand dollars! On top of it was another note.

**Use all of it! Don't be modest, you need more than one pair of clothes. Find a gay guy or something to help you look at clothes.**

One of my eyebrows arched. A gay guy? What the hell did she think I was going to buy. And why this much money? Did I miss something because last I checked a couple shirts and a few pairs of pants and underwear didn't cost anywhere near a thousand dollars. I tried not to question it, it was Imriska after all.

The stack of bills were tossed into my bag, which I slung over my shoulder when I exited the truck. I locked the door and looked around at the offending stores. I had never really shopped for clothes and that meant I had no idea what kinds of shops to look in.

My solution? Enter every shop I come to.

But after leaving around twenty shops empty handed I was losing hope in finding anything I would wear. None of the places seemed any different than the others, all generic brands and styles, which for some reason consisted wholly of shitty glittery dresses and leggings that the salesmen were trying to pass off as pants. Jesus.

I was especially agitated by one male employee I met in the last shop, who was a jock, sassy, and stupid enough to tell me I couldn't be attractive in anyway if I didn't wear something revealing. I had glared and nearly slapped the fucker when he had the audacity to grin and wink at me. Asshole. I stormed out immediately and put as much distance between myself and the tool since he had decided it would be a good idea to follow me.

And that concludes why I was currently being chased down the street by a hormonal teenage boy.

Well not really chased, more like speedily walked after. It was still enough to make me freak though, and somehow I had managed to pass every opportunity to slip into one of the shops and now I was traveling a much less populous street.

"Hey, stop, I just wanna talk to you." A smirk was plastered on the guy's face and his eyes were slightly lidded and drooped in what he probably thought was sexy. It was not, he looked like a rapist. I wasn't so sure he wasn't.

An arm flew out in front of me, his palm smacking the wall that was to my right, blocking me from going forward. And so I moved backwards, or at least that's what I was going to do, but he caught my wrist in his hand, squeezing it so hard it felt like the bone was cracking. I let out a pained gasp and jerked around in an attempt to escape.

"Get the hell away from me!" I growled. He only chuckled and wrapped the arm he had used to stop me around my waist, pulling me forward while I tried to push him away by shoving him in the chest with my free hand. It wasn't working, I was completely vulnerable. My eyes clenched shut with tears brimming from them.

Suddenly he was ripped away from me.

I tripped and fell against the wall from the force of the separation and when I looked up I saw a freakishly tall and thin man. He had black hair that was pushed back into a beanie and he was wearing a white tee with a blue denim vest on top and dark blue jeans with black sneakers on the bottom. I couldn't really see his face from my angle but I could see that he had quite a few tattoos up and down his arms and neck. I didn't really get a look at what the tattoos were of because I had more important things to worry about. After all, one of his hands was wrapped around my stalkers neck.

The boy clawed at his attackers arm but not once did his grip falter. It didn't seem like he was actually doing any damage, more like he was keeping his captive in place so he could scrutinize him. And that he did, in complete silence other than the stressed gasps of the boy in his grasp.

It was quite awkward and confusing to watch him, in a way, taunt the kid. He stood completely still even with the weight of the struggling being. I didn't want to watch. In fact, I wanted the kid let go. Don't get me wrong, I hate the insolent brat, but standing around and staring at him to make him uncomfortable is not something I think of as revenge for molesting me.

I stepped towards the stranger to stop him but a hand caught mine and pulled me back. I whipped around, alarmed that there was another person behind me that I hadn't noticed. My heart nearly stopped and melted as my eyes met orbs of molten gold.

There was that burning in my chest again.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review, follow, and fav!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Updated.**

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My heart sped up when I felt the woman intertwine our fingers.

_What is she doing?_

I tilted my head up and we locked eyes, liquid gold clashing with emerald green. She had a bewildered, almost desperate look on her face. Her beautiful face, I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. Her own eyes were perfectly shaped and stood out from her pale skin just enough to give them a striking glow. Pouty pink lips sat below her perfectly shaped nose. Even her eyebrows were perfect, and to top it off it was all framed by waves long golden blonde hair combed into an updo. She was the epitome of perfection.

And she was pulling me into her front. Her embrace felt protective with her arms firmly wrapped around my torso. She raised her hand to the nape of my neck and tucked my head into the crook of her own. A small bit of heat radiated off of her body and it lulled me, making me completely comfortable in the stranger's embrace, even though my mind very much wanted me to get away from her.

I was extremely nervous actually, and it was rather obnoxious. My hands were sweating as my arms hung limply at my sides. I wanted to get away from the woman, but at the same time I wanted to curl further into her arms.

I decided to do the prior and gently pushed the woman away. Her arms slipped away easily and fell to her sides. A pained look crossed her face and I watched as she schooled it into one of indifference. It was difficult for her, that I could tell, and my heart and hands clenched.

I pushed away the guilt and looked her up and down. The woman was tall and slender with the perfect amount of curve. Her long legs were encased in black skinny jeans and she had on a light blue oxford that hung out from under a grey speckled, wide neck sweater. The sweater was loose but sat on her figure in such a way that her curves were still noticeable and attractive. She was pretty much completely covered, the skin of her feet wasn't even showing since she had black boots on. Proves wrong the little bastard who tried to rape me.

Not that his opinion mattered though.

Suddenly a hand landed on my shoulder from behind, making me jump in surprise and, as usual, trip and fall. Screwing my eyes shut I braced myself for impact with the hard concrete, but instead I felt two sets of arms catch me mid air. I was a bit dazed when I opened my eyes. But I couldn't miss my own eyes staring back at me accompanied by two golden ones. His eyes were the same strange green as mine.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked, shifting me into the woman's arms completely and breaking contact with me. I nodded, eyes wide as I looked between the two. _Wasn't the guy just holding that other one hostage? _When I looked behind him I could see blood on the pavement and the worker was nowhere to be seen.

"What did you do to him?" The man flicked his eyes to the woman before answering.

"I took care of him. He won't bother you again after the beating I gave him. I think he pissed himself." He smirked, obviously pleased with himself.

It seemed off though. There was a lot of blood on the walk and I'm pretty sure no one can just go on their merry way after losing several pints of blood. Honestly, these people were starting to scare me. It's like I fell out of one bad situation into another.

"Hey," I looked up to the man. He was looking at me strangely with those green eyes that were identical to mine, "What's your name?"

I didn't answer. He reminded me of someone, someone I didn't like. I couldn't pinpoint who it was, but i wasn't going against my gut feelings. I turned away from him and tried to stand from the arms of the goddess who was holding me just above the ground, but before I could manage to stand completely his hand grabbed my arm at the elbow and he whipped me around.

"What's your name?!" His voice was deep and had a dark tone to it that caused a shiver to creep up the column of my spine. I really didn't like this guy. He made me feel queasy and sick.

"Hey, let go!" I shook his hand off with a vicious thrash of my arm and backed away from the two strangers. I had nothing against the woman, but she was the man's companion and that set me off a bit.

They both looked taken aback by my outburst. The woman tried to come towards me but I stopped her by sticking out my arm. I saw her body tense at my gesture to stay away. Looking closely at her gold flecked eyes, they swam with all the pain in the world, like I had done the cruelest thing to her with that one movement. It made me want to vomit.

Then suddenly… I couldn't breathe.

It was like a noose had been tightly fastened around my neck, forcing my esophagus to cave in. My eyes watered and the first few tears streamed down my face, coating my cheeks in salty dew. I could hear voices speaking to me but I payed no mind and began to fumble around, tearing at my neck as if there was an actual tangible rope there that I could somehow get off. All I could feel was the burn of my nails scraping away layers of skin and the agonizing strangulation.

Then it came, the burning settling in my chest like I was boiling from the inside, tearing at my ribs and charring my very soul. I toppled over onto my hands and knees, taking in arduous, heaving gasps of air with little luck of actually getting any. Then two hands with slender fingers pushed me over and shoved me a little too roughly onto my back so that I was laying flat on the pavement. I blinked rapidly from the blow and my vision cleared, only to find the blonde woman bent over me, her hands planted on either side of me.

Her beautiful face cringed as I started to spasm and she had to grab my hands to stop me from hitting anything as I struggled to free myself from my invisible deathtrap.

"You're okay, you're fine. You need to calm down." She told me when I shook violently to get away from her. "I'm going to make it better. You need to trust me."

Her voice was calming and it made me want to listen to her, but getting my body to listen to what my brain was demanding it was aggravating and the pain increased. I couldn't help arching up, my mouth opening in a silent scream and eyes as wide as possible.

The blonde's hands led mine to her sides where she had me grab onto her sweater so I had a sense of stability. Then her lips were on mine, cold and open while she transferred cool breathes into my aching lungs. Immediately I took both sides off her face into my hands and held on like she was my last chance of survival. I caught her off guard when her breathing shuttered in a surprised waver but it was for only a second before she resumed supporting my lungs.

Slowly the flames that had lit my insides start to fade and I could breath steadily again, but I refused to let go of the woman's perfectly sculpted face. Even when she pulled away, disconnecting our lips, I held on to her for dear life by draping my arms around her slender neck. In return she settled on top of me, just a little off to the side as to not crush me, and nuzzled the side of my face. It must have looked strange to anyone who might have walked by. it's not every day you see two women lying on the sidewalk together.

Thankfully no one was around, but that quickly changed when I looked past honey curls and spotted the man who had saved me earlier. His head was held high and he regarded the two of us with disdain and a bit of discomfort. As soon as he noticed I was looking at him he locked our gazes and his expression softened to a more passive appearance. He stared at me awhile before he spoke to the woman on top of me.

"Irina." He sighed, getting her attention. _Her names Irina? _She raised her head slightly to tell him she was listening but she kept as little distance between our faces as possible. "Listen... I know I have no right to say anything in this situation, but this isn't going to end well."

Irina glared harshly at him and raised herself up a bit in a slightly protective stance and... _growled? _It was a quiet rumble that was just barely audible, but I most definitely heard it.

"Hey! Don't you dare threaten me!" I shrunk into myself from the abrupt disparage, Irina taking immediate notice and curling around me. "This is going to lead us all to destruction, and I'm not going to take the fall for you. If you do this I leave here and now!"

_What the hell is he talking about? _The guy was making no sense. He had saved me from a rapist but now he was spewing about how it would get everyone killed, or something like that.

He waited for Irina to answer him, but when she simply turned her gaze back to me I heard him scoff.

"Fine then. Do what you want."

And with that he was gone, ducking into the shadows of an alley. I had watched him go and to get my attention back on her, Irina cupped my cheek and pushed my head in her direction. I had only a second to fall into her eyes before she was ripped away me. Short black hair and infuriated red eyes flashed through my vision and I knew exactly who had separated us.

Imriska.

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	6. Chapter 5

**Updated.**

**I hoped I could get all the existing chapters revised this weekend, but at the pace I'm doing it I'm not sure I'll get to all of them.**

**Disclaimer: I own my OC's only, and I forgot to do a disclaimer for the previous chapter, oops.**

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"Who the fuck are you?!"

Imriska rounded on Irina like a predator sizing up an equally formidable opponent. Her whole body was tense, and Irina was no different. The two were circling each other, ready to lung at a moment's notice. Imriska was slowly moving Irina farther away from me, displeased with her close proximity, not to mention her question was still unanswered, although she probably didn't actually want one.

I stepped forward to put myself between the two in hopes of keep them from ripping each other's heads off, but it only seemed to stir the two into action, Imriska grabbing my arm and pulling me away from them while Irina grabbed Imriska's arm. She gazed into Imriska's eyes without fear and a good bit of anger. Even when the blonde was confronted by that same malice filled expression that had made me tremble in pure unadulterated terror, she refused to let their eye contact falter. And it pissed Imriska off even more.

It honestly scared me, that Imriska could completely ignore the chances of having civil encounters with others whatsoever. As soon as she was accosted with someone unfamiliar she would develop a wall around herself, closing herself in and forcing everyone out.

I hadn't seen her interact with many people, only one or two, but those few were enough to notice that, underneath the eccentric and happy-go-lucky attitude, she was severely introverted and afraid to interact with others. When she did have to be around others she had two reactions. The first was to be overly outgoing to overwhelm people, and the second was to try to scare them to the point that they would be too afraid to approach her.

At the moment, she was reacting the second way, although it wasn't working the way she planned since Irina refused to back down. In fact, she was getting up in her space. I could see Imriska's confidence start to waver and she accidently let a small amount of shock slip onto her face before covering it up again.

"Irina Denali." I blinked and when I looked to see Imriska's reaction her ruby eyes were narrowed in confusion and her mouth hung open slightly. Irina smiled with just a bit too much innocence to be genuine and continued. "That's my name. Now, I know you have a stick permanently stuck up your ass, but you are playing a dangerous game here... You know you are."

I had no idea what she was talking about but Imriska seemed to since she backed up hesitantly, loosening her grip on my arm, but never actually letting go. I could see Irina shift toward me, and her smile faded into a frown of observation, like she was waiting to see what Imriska would do. Imriska obviously wanted nothing to do with the woman and began to turn to walk away, intertwining our fingers to pull me along with here. A bell like voice rang out before we could even get a few feet.

"Let her go."

Three heavily annunciated word. A message so simply yet demandingly sent. There was so much power behind the voice but it still managed to be distinctly feminine and beautiful. Irina lightened up as soon as she heard it, her lips turning up into a victorious smirk as a petite blonde haired woman came out of a nearby alleyway.

She had a heart shaped face with a cute little nose and blood red lips that were a little bit on the thin side but still attractive. She was curvy, extremely so. Tight blue jeans hugged her hips while a white tank top showed off her generous amount of bust. She looked completely comfortable in the sleeveless shirt, even though it was well below the temperature that called for a jacket, she didn't show any sign of being cold at all.

"Can someone explain what is going on here?" She asked calmly. Imriska was the first to answer and she didn't even try to hide her displeasure.

"We were just leaving, because this bitch-" She jerks her head toward Irina who scowled right back at her. "-was bothering my friend."

As soon as the words left her mouth the woman's face changed. She looked... pissed? Yeah that would be the best way to describe her expression. It was a strange mixture of calm and barely contained rage that contrasted vastly. Then she looked at me.

The air around me shifted as soon as we made eye contact. Slowly, a heavy feeling weighed down on me. It slithered around me like a snake squeezing its prey to death, but there was no pain, just an uncomfortable feeling, the kind you would get in a room filled with one too many occupants.

From how Imriska was acting I wasn't the only one who could feel it, but she looked even more uncomfortable than I did. I was going to ask if she was okay but I didn't have the time before I was hit with the most retch worthy smell I had ever encountered. It was like every single type of food you should never leave out was compiled into one mass and put in direct sunlight for several days. The stench permeated the air so thickly that I had to breathe through my mouth to get a little bit of relief.

Imriska was in no way affected in the same way I was. After having been distracted a bit by the stench I looked towards her and found the unknown blonde woman standing directly in front of her, Irina watching them with an amused smile.

The woman's hand raised and she trailed her knuckles over the exposed skin of Imriska's arm. Imriska flinched away from her, not really from fright, but what looked like reaction to being shocked with static. I knew that wasn't the case though, especially with the face Imriska was making. She looked…

Turned on, but confused about it too.

The woman obviously noticed Imriska's distress. She seemed to like that she was getting to her and slipped her arm around Imriska's waist to bring their bodies flush together. The woman was about a head shorter than her counterpart in the forced embrace so Imriska had to arch her neck downward to see the woman's face. The blonde smiled sweetly at my friend.

"You are quite cocky, aren't you?" She was teasing her. "I guess it can't be helped since you are so young."

_Young? I'm pretty sure Imriska's in her twenties. It's not like she's an immature teenager._ I hadn't really noticed that I had insulted myself with that thought.

"I'm Tanya, and that 'bitch', is my sister. You know exactly what's going on here. If you interfere, you break the law." Imriska's face went even paler than her already snowy colored skin and Tanya chuckled. She turned to Irina, but didn't release her captive.

"I think we have cleared things up." The two smiled and I couldn't help but admire how radiant they were together. It was truly beautiful.

The smell from before was gone at once after the exchange and I could breathe normally again. I was rubbing my nose to get rid of the last bit of foul smell and nearly had a heart attack when I found Irina directly in front of me. She smiled at me without saying anything about my slight flail.

"What's your name, little one?"

Little one? We had an awkward moment of staring as I thought over the pet name she had given me. Irina didn't show any sign of being annoyed by my lack of response and even gently cupped my shoulder to reassure me that she was fine waiting. I decided the pet name could wait.

"Ester." I almost whispered it. Irina managed to hear it though and her face brightened right away. My heart nearly burst out of my chest from the absolute perfection of her smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Ester."

She trailed her one hand that was on my shoulder down to my hand while her other grabbed my opposite hand. She pulled one of my hands up to her mouth and I watched in shock as she pressed her lips to my palm. My face heated when the tip of her tongue briefly stuck out between her lips and wetted a small part of the skin there.

"I have so much to tell you." With that she took me in her arms and just held me. I held her back with little hesitance and hid my face in her hair.

Looking past her soft curls I could see Imriska and Tanya. Tanya still had Imriska securely in her arms but they were no longer staring into each other's eyes. No, they were staring directly at Irina and I. A blush crept onto my cheeks when Tanya got up on her toes and pressed a kiss below Imriska's ear. Imriska didn't move at all and the glare she had plastered on her pale face pierced my heart through.

_What is going on?_

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	7. Chapter 6

**Updated. This chapter reminds me of how much I love torturing Imriska with Tanya.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or it's characters.**

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After our strange encounter with Irina and Tanya, the two women insisted that we come with them so they could explain some things to us in private. Imriska wasn't at all pleased with the idea, but I refused to go back to the truck with her. She had acted like she was going to go without me but once I had made it clear that I was following the two other women she grudgingly agreed to come along. And so, we all got into what I guessed was Tanya's car based how she gave Irina a scolding look when the other blonde tried to take the driver's seat. In the end, Imriska was stuck in the front with Tanya, which she accepted by scooting over in her seat and trying to become one with the door, while Irina shooed me into the back with her.

All in all the ride was quite peaceful other than a few strange occurrences. Irina tried to get as close to me as possible throughout the drive, which made me a bit uneasy. I wasn't that sure about being near others at all, and someone trying to be so close to me was kind of suffocating. Thankfully, Irina noticed this and backed off. Even though she would start it again a little while after, it was still nice to know that she was at least trying to give me space.

It's more than I could say Tanya was doing for Imriska.

The small blonde was constantly trying to slip her hand into Imriska's, reaching over the gap between the two front seats and gliding her pale hand over the dark haired woman's. Each time the tips of her fingers would graze the slender hand, Imriska would quickly retract her whole arm and hold it to her chest like she was cradling a wounded limb. Tanya looked extremely disappointed every time she was rejected. Imriska had even smacked her hand a few times to get Tanya to leave her alone.

I know it's terrible, but I was having a hard time containing my laughter. Imriska didn't really notice since she was busy fending off Tanya's wandering hands. On the other hand, Irina was quite content making jokes about the situation to make me laugh even more.

"We're here." Irina quietly said right next to my ear. I moved toward the window a little to regain some space and to look out so I could see where we were. I knew we had backtracked from Imriska and I's original destination drastically, but I wanted to know what was going on more than I wanted to go to Alaska.

I nearly choked on the air when I saw the house we were pulling up to. Can you even call it a house? It looked more like a mansion, one of those weirdly shaped ones that had several levels and big windows. Lots of big windows. It looked like one huge pane of glass covered each side of the tall building.

I hadn't realized we were parked until a hand grabbed my elbow softly. Amazingly, I didn't get caught off guard and actually I felt comforted by the contact. It was Irina of course, and she smiled at me before opening the door on her side and pulling me out along with her.

The woods around us were splattered with bright greens that reflected the sun-rays, giving the area a dream-like atmosphere. The air itself seemed to sparkle with the radiance of diamonds and I'm sure I was smiling like an idiot from the effect the place was having on me.

"It's so pretty." I wasn't really directing the comment toward anyone, just getting caught up in the beauty.

"Ester." Irina's melodic voice called to me and I turned toward her. She was holding out her hand for me and I took it in my own at once, not thinking twice about it as she lead us into the strange house. Imriska and Tanya were nowhere in sight, so I guessed they had already gone inside.

We came into a large open room with a staircase leading up to the next level and came several rooms off of it. It was modernly decorated, and I have to say I didn't really like it. My father had tried to make our house as modern looking as possible and I grew to have a deep rooted hatred for the style.

"It's a bit much, isn't it?" Irina asked me. Blushing, I tried to say something to not seem rude but Irina cut me off.

"It's fine. This isn't my house so you can say whatever you want about it."

She grinned at me.

"What do you mean this isn't you-" I was interrupted by a blonde woman stalking into the room. Irina stiffened next to me and she faced her. The woman looked at me and the very foundations of my soul shook as she fitted me with a deadly glare, making me back away in fear. Irina wrapped an arm around me.

"Just because this isn't her house doesn't mean she can insult it in front of its owners." She growled menacingly at me to which Irina returned, letting a deep rumble escape her throat.

I was reminded of a time when I was little and I had seen two stray dogs fight over a piece of meat I had given to one. They had rounded each other and snapped at the other when they tried to get to the meat. They soon fell into a clash of fangs and claws, biting and slashing at each other to gain the upper hand. My mother found me shortly after the fight had started and hurried me away before I could see which dog ended up winning.

And right now I felt like I was the meat between two rival dogs.

The stranger took a few steps towards us and Irina moved me behind her.

"Rosalie! Stop!"

The woman, Rosalie, backed off as a blonde man entered with a scolding look on his face. "You will not start a scene here. Leave the girl alone."

Rosalie glanced at me angrily and then stomped out of the room leaving me in a state of confusion and the after effects of a small heart attack.

"I'm sorry about her." The man said once his attention was free from the crazy blonde. I righted myself as quickly as possible, shuffling away from Irina's protection which she didn't like all that much since she grabbed my arm. I looked back at her and jerked my arm away. I was getting a bit irritated with her unexplained clinginess. I turned back to the man without checking her reaction.

I smiled meekly. "It's fine. I did kind of insult her home, so I deserved it a bit."

"Nonsense, you did no such thing. You have different tastes than us, no one can control that." He smiled, a set of pure white teeth showing. We didn't exchange any words for few seconds before his smile tapered off into apologetic excitement.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Carlisle Cullen."

I started at the sudden exclamation and the hand he extended for me to shake. I wasn't too keen on being around men with my abuse and almost rape experience from earlier, but I felt like I could trust Carlisle for some reason so I grasped his hand in mine. It was cold.

"I'm Ester."

"Any last name?" I didn't answer. I didn't like to use my last name. He realized this and changed the subject. "Never mind what I said. So, you're the friend of the red eyed girl?"

Imriska was the only person I could think of with red eyes so it was easy to answer that question.

"Yeah, we were traveling together. She's my closest friend." _She's also my only friend._ I didn't add that thought though.

"Really? We have interrupted your vacation then. Were you going anywhere in particular?" He got more excited as the conversation progressed. It was quite funny to watch how his body language changed to that of small child.

"We were on our way to Alaska."

His eyes widened in surprise and delight and he was about to say something, but he couldn't get one word out before the door behind us opened. Well, more like exploded open and nearly flew off its hinges from the force of the kick used to knock it in.

In the blink of an eye Irina had me in her arms and across the room, as far away from the door as possible and in waltzed the boy who had saved me on the street with Irina.

Carlisle's happy demeanor was gone as soon as he identified the intruder.

"VALENTINE!" He calmed himself as much as he could. "You cannot do that! Have some respect for this house and those in it!"

Valentine wasn't perturbed by Carlisle's yelling in the slightest and gave him a bored look. He took his shoes off and held them out to one of his sides. He looked straight into the blond's eyes and dropped the mud covered sneakers onto the pristine floor, splattering it with the mixture of dirt and rainwater.

"If you want me to respect you and your house, you have to bring Otakar back. That's the only thing that would make me bow down to your rules." He walked up to Carlisle's left side and leaned into his ear. "Until then, go fuck yourself." And then he continued up the stairs and out of sight.

Carlisle stood frozen in his spot, nothing to say. He managed to partially recollect himself and left the room without a word. I turned to Irina for an explanation. Who was Otakar? Why were Rosalie and Valentine such bitches? I didn't get an explanation though.

I got two soft and sexy lips pressed to my own while I was shoved up against the wall.

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	8. Chapter 7

**Updated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight. It would be better if I did.**

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I'd like to say that the kiss was passionate, that it was the greatest thing I had ever experienced… but that would be a lie. It was soft and still, no rough pressure or tongue action. It was more like a reassurance for the giver that I was actually there and safe. As soon as it was over I forced my way out of Irina's arms and ran into the nearest room, slamming the door behind me, locking it.

_She kissed me! She fucking kissed me!_

It was one thing when she had done mouth-to-mouth on me, there was no intimacy in that. What happened back there was most definitely intimate. It was my first kiss too.

I was pacing in front of the door and a knock rung through the room. Whoever was on the other side of the wood barrier waited for me to respond, but I knew it was Irina so I didn't have the courage to speak. All I could do was blush and stare in the direction the knock came from.

"Ester, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." She sounded so broken and it hurt to hear her heavy sobbing breaths. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

_Make sure I was okay?_

"What the fuck kind of way is that to make sure I'm okay!?"

I heard feet shuffle across the floor as she backed away from the door in surprise.

"I was-" I didn't let her finish, I was getting freaked out. This day was getting too weird.

"Just leave! I don't want to talk to you!"

"Est-"

"LEAVE!"

I could tell she had been leaning against the door because it shuttered in its frame as she took her weight off of it and walked away, her steps heavy.

I practically sobbed myself to death when she was gone, my head aching from the loss of so many bitter tears. I didn't understand why I was so affected by the blonde goddess. She was beautiful, funny, charming… far out of my reach. And maybe that was what had me so distraught about the kiss, it felt like she was using me. Like I was just a toy to play with for a little while before throwing me aside like a piece of trash.

But I still couldn't place the reason it got to me so badly. I had been treated in the likeness my whole life. Why did it matter that it was her.

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The large window pane shuttered as knuckles lightly tapped against it.

I had been in that room a bit longer than I should have and probably made a fairly bad first impression on the owners of the house. I was just too freaked out to come out.

I looked up out of my place between a desk and wall I had hidden myself between. On the other side of the glass stood Valentine. He still had his fist up in case he had to knock again and he dropped it once my attention was on him. He gave me a come hither gesture that was amazingly not that creepy. I scooted out of my poor concealment and walked right up to the window to see what he wanted. He pointed to his right and I saw that he was gesturing to an off to the side door. I looked back at him questioningly and he rolled his eyes. He walked over to the door and grabbed the handle, turning it but meeting resistance since the lock was intact. I finally figured out what he wanted and unlocked the door, and he came inside.

"Irina's upset." He said, making my insides turn inside out at the news. "She thinks you hate her, she's close to crying her heart out."

I didn't think he would care with how he treated her and Carlisle earlier.

_Maybe he does have a soul._

"She should have thought before she molested my lips." I was being harsh, it was only a little kiss, but I certainly didn't like it.

_That's a lie._

"Yeah, I know, she jumped the gun, but you have to understand that Irina would never do that to hurt or use you. "

"Yeah right. What would you know about it?"

Valentine scowled at me.

"I know all too well what it is like to try to protect someone and fuck up in the process. I know the pain that comes with being rejected by the person I love."

_Love?_

"What does love have to do with this?"

His face contorted into a self scolding look before he answered.

"More than you think, but it's not my place to tell you. Just…" He paused and shook his head. "Just don't make any decisions about Irina based on this one mistake, okay?"

He looked desperately into my eyes and I felt like I couldn't deny him that one request. I nodded. He smiled.

"Good. Now tell me… who's the dark haired girl who came with you and how did you meet her?"

He was acting nothing like the two other times I had met him. He was a lot more approachable and easy going.

"Imriska. Um… she kind of picked me up on the side of the road."

"Really?! Wow, you are a risk taker aren't you?" He smiled disbelievingly. "She's causing trouble for Tanya."

"What's she doing?" I was hoping she wouldn't start anything.

"Well, it's not that she is really making any rash decisions and messing with people, but more that Tanya wants to shag her, badly, but Imriska has been avoiding her ever since you guys got here. So Tanya is thoroughly frustrated, in more than one way."

_Tanya wants to shag her, badly._ I let his words churn in my head for a second, and then I blushed deeply. Valentine took advantage of my embarrassment.

"Oh come on, you can't honestly find that out of place. Everyone shags these days. I'm sure you've done it a few times."

"No! I have not!"

"Oh, so you're a virgin." He likes to point out the obvious just to embarrass me. "Well, I can promise that if you stay in this house you won't be for long. People around here are rather sexual."

"You are so gross." I wasn't really angry at him. His facial contortions and quick responses were way too funny. "What about you? Shagging anyone?"

"I was, but that was awhile ago. Carlisle didn't like them." He looked sad talking about this person. They must have meant a lot to him.

Then I realized something.

"Was it Otakar?"

He glanced at me surprised but smiled quickly after.

"Yeah, he was." _He? He's gay? _He smirked at my look of what was probably shock. "Surprised I'm gay? You shouldn't be, you're obviously a lesbian."

I gaped at him. He was such a smart ass.

"And what makes you think that?"

"Everything! The way you walk, talk... check out Irina." My eyes widened and he chuckled. "You may not have noticed yourself but you are smitten with that woman."

I never thought about my sexuality, mostly because no one was ever attracted to me so I assumed it didn't matter if I was attracted to someone, so this was news to me. And the fact that this complete stranger could figure it out before I could was rather pathetic.

"Hey, hey! No need to get flustered, I can tell you now that Irina likes you as well."

"What?" I so eloquently said. He smiled and put his hands on my shoulders. I wasn't bothered by it.

"I can't tell you why, but you and Irina will most certainly come together. You were made for each other." We gazed silently at each other. His words sounded like something out of a fairytale, so enchanting and mystical. But of course, Valentine couldn't stop himself from making a dirty joke.

"Plus Irina probably wants to shag you just as bad as Tanya wants to shag Imriska."

I rolled my eyes and smacked him on the back of the head to which he scurried away laughing. Then he straightened up overly dramatically and regarded me, sticking out his hand with a mock face of seriousness.

"Valentine Kastle at your service ma'am."

I was supposed to take his hand in the same humorous gesture but I only stared wide eyed. Valentine saw this and stepped toward me to see what was wrong.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I looked up at his emerald eyes and stuttered.

"I'm Ester Kastle."

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	9. Chapter 8

**Updated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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Valentine was roughly pulling me through the house. As soon as he had heard my last name he grabbed my arm, threw open the door I had locked and rushed out with me. He looked frantic, brows knitted in anguish and limbs perceivably shaking in fear. We moved quickly up the main stairs and through several rooms, slamming doors open then closed, before at last coming to a stop in front of a red painted door. It was greatly out of place since the other doors I had seen were a light brown color, but Valentine didn't give me time to ask about it as he flung it open and went in, sitting me in a desk chair. Then he started to rummage around for something.

"What are you doing? What's going on?" He didn't answer, just went into a large closet that was in the room. I was getting seriously scared. The people here weren't acting normal at all. It was concerning, and Valentine's demeanor changed so quickly I swear I had whiplash. I needed to know what was going on.

Valentine came out of the closet with a green backpack and I got up to confront him. He finally answered, not in the way I wanted though.

"I can't tell you what's happening."

"But-"

"No! I can't!" I flinched away from him. He looked concerned, like he was going to apologize but he schooled his whole presence into a military stance and threw the bag at me. I haphazardly caught it and looked inside it. There were various articles of clothing, a credit card, and… something black. Whatever it was being covered up by a blue shirt, so moved the fabric aside to see what it was. My heart nearly burst out of my chest.

It was a handgun.

I dropped the bag like it was a hot coal burning through my skin. Valentine caught it before it hit the floor.

"Why is there a gun in there?!" He tried to shove the bag back into my hands but huffed angrily when I backed away and put my hands in front of me to tell him to stop. "Why are you so freaked out that we have the same last name?! It could simply be a coincidence." He looked at me scornfully.

"That's the thing! I don't know if it _is_ a coincidence!" He had made a shaky gesture towards his head to make it clear he didn't know what to think. "We could be related! You could be my sister! I have no idea, but I can't take that chance in case it isn't a coincidence. I can't let you stay here. You can't be here when they come!"

"Who are they?!" He turned away from me, his hands rising to his forehead like he was trying to hold it together. He once again didn't answer and I felt my face heat up in anger. I grabbed one of his raised arms and yanked him around to face me. "Give me some goddamn answers!"

Valentine scoffed, thrusting the backpack into my arms without any resistance from me this time. "I can't give you answers."

"Why not?!"

"Cause, if I do you'll be in more danger!" He looked into my eyes and I watched, frozen, as translucent tears cut down his slender face. He touched my shoulders lightly, making me glance wearily at the digits resting there.

"Please, never tell anyone your last name, especially anyone here." I tried to protest but he cut me off, much to my displeasure. "Don't argue, promise me you won't tell anyone." I nodded reluctantly, but I knew I wouldn't disregard what I agreed to. Valentine noticed this and looked pleased, although he was still acting jittery.

"Good, I'm going to get your friend. I need you to go out after me and act normal, to not show any discomfort." I had not the slightest clue how this was all going to play out but I was willing to do what Valentine told me. He trusted me with a gun after all. I should give him at least that much trust in return.

He walked over to the door and nodded at me. "Give it a few minutes before coming out, then make your way out the front door."

"Okay." For some reason it was nerve racking. My heart was pounding in a frenzied rhythm, hitting the inside of my ribs like a drum stick repeatedly smacking a snare. It only got worse when Valentine slipped out of the room to do what he needed. I was alone.

One minute.

Deep down I knew I shouldn't have been listening to Valentine. I hadn't known him more than a few hours, and he had acted like an ass most of that small span of time. There was something else about him that made it impossible for me not to trust him. He made me feel safe, and finding out that we could possibly be related in some way made it even harder to avoid him. Today was just too weird to not listen to him. I may have agreed to come to the isolated house, but I was second guessing my decision.

Two minutes.

Then there was the situation with Irina. I knew nothing about her other than that she found amusement in Imriska and Tanya's relationship, and that really only told me that she liked teasing. Everything else was a mystery. Her habits, likes, dislikes, I knew none of them. Yet I was drawn to her like a magnet to metal. And it was terrifying, asphyxiating. She was so undeniably attractive to me, made me feel things I never had.

Three minutes.

Was it too early to go out yet? I had no idea, there was no clock in the room. But, I decided to just go for it since I knew Valentine would be working quickly. I shuffled over to the door and took the doorknob into a shaky hand. Why was I so frightened? I just had to go out and leave through the front door. I stood with the handle in my grasp.

Four minutes.

I slowly opened the door and looked out. There was no one outside the room so I stepped into the empty hallway. I looked to both ends of the narrow passageway, finding which way the stairs were and heading that way. All the doors along the way were closed so I didn't have the trouble I usually did with getting distracted by everything. _I wonder if that makes me ADD?_

Click.

My head shot up at the noise. A little way down a door was opening. A huge bear-like man with short dark brown hair practically bolted out of the room, golden eyes gleaming in amusement. He was grinning widely, dimples showing, and laughing like he had just managed to pulled an elaborate prank on someone, which I guessed he had done just that when another man dashed out after him, swearing in a southern accent.

Two things about him got my attention. First, he had golden eyes like Irina, Tanya, and the brown haired giant, and I was pretty sure that Carlisle and the blonde bitch, Rosalie, had the same strangely colored eyes. I know genetics could do strange things, but every one of them having an uncommon eye color was, well, uncommon.

The second thing that got my attention was that there was a large splatter of pink amongst his honey blond hair. _Well, I guess that's what the jock did to piss him off._

I was caught off guard when the overgrown man child backed into me and sent me sprawling. He had been attempting to avoid a fist swung by the blond, but didn't notice I was there. As soon as my ass came in contact with the hardwood floor he turned around in surprise and tried to catch the rest of my body by grabbing my arms, keeping my torso from whipping back.

"Holy shit, sorry! I didn't see you there!" He was right up in my face and looked like he would die of self hatred if I didn't forgive him for his mistake.

"I-It's fine." I said hoping he would be satisfied and leave me alone. I had places to be.

He helped me up and began fretting over me like a panicked mother while the blond man gave me a strangled look. It was like he was in some kind of pain and was trying to hold it in.

"You're not hurt are you?" His eyes were wide and he sighed in relief when I shook my head. "I thought I had knocked your face in. My bad. Here I'll help you up."

"No, I'm fi-" My eyes caught movement behind the bear. I looked over his shoulder with great difficulty and as expected the blond man was still there, although he looked like he was about to vomit as he glanced backwards towards the top of the stairs where, in all her raging beauty, stood Irina. Her body was stock still, like a sculptor had perfectly captured her image in cold flawless marble, but her eyes… were black. Now if I were to tell any normal person this they would say I was just seeing things, but I knew that it wasn't just an illusion. I could see the anger in those ebony pools. I quickly realized who they were directed at.

"Shit." The bearman had a look of pure terror on his face and let go of my shoulders. Irina took a menacing step forward and both men backed away, the blond mostly blocking her path to bearman. She then advanced on them quickly.

I'm not sure why I did it, since I was pretty sure she couldn't take down the huge man, but I got right in front of Irina and hugged her around the waist to try to stop her. To my horror my face landed right between her breasts, making my eyes clench shut in embarrassment. Even in my uncomfortable position I refused to let go, because if I did someone might have ended up dead.

"What are you guys doing?" Irina stiffened more than she already was at the sound of the man's voice, a small growl rippling through her body and into mine from our contact. _Why me?_ I tightened one arm firmly around the blonde's waist and pulled the other away to frantically wave at the two men to leave. I heard them exchange a few words before there was a small click of a door followed by silence.

_God this has been a draining day. _I let my arms slip away from Irina and awkwardly shuffled to a standing position. Then I walked past Irina to leave, avoiding looking at her. Suddenly, I was yanked back around and her desperate eyes scrutinized me. Way to make someone feel like shit.

"You're not going to even look at me? Have I really offended you that much?" I stared at her without saying anything and tried to leave again. _I have places to be. I can't waste my time on this. _She moved in front of the stairs.

"Please, just tell me what to do. I want to make it up to you." I scoffed. Make it up to me?

"You can't just make it up to me!" She reached a hand out to me and I smacked it down. "You stole my first kiss!"

That seemed to catch her off guard.

"What?"

"You! You took my first kiss!" I yelled, shoving her by the shoulder. "And it felt like shit! So thank you for wasting that!" She looked genuinely upset and hurt by my comment, but I just glared.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't really trying to kiss well." She looked down at the floor in submission, but I was pissed off.

"You weren't trying? So, you thought it would be a good idea to kiss me, but not even try to make it enjoyable? Are you fucking with me?!"

"No! Just listen!"

"I don't wa-!"

I'm roughly shoved into the wall. When I look up at Irina she grabs my face in both hands and attaches our lips. I struggled to get away but Irina pinned my body to the wall with her own, leaving me no escape and two firm breasts against my own. Once I stop squirming, Irina lets go of my face and lets her hands travel to my hips. I turn my face to the side and disconnect our lips. Irina huffs at this but easily preoccupies her lips by planting little kisses along my jawbone.

"Stop." I gasped out. She chuckled.

"No, you don't want me to." She rasped into my ear before pulling on my earlobe with her teeth. I felt like I should be angry that she said that but I was too busy trying to not like the feelings she was making me feel that I didn't bother defending myself.

She took my chin in her hand and forced my head back towards her so she could kiss me again. This kiss… was so much better than the first two. Her lips practically bruised mine from the contact but it wasn't painful at all, and after a moment, I started to reciprocate. Our lips moved together perfectly, moving just right so that they fit together like matching puzzle pieces. My hands moved into her long blonde tresses and I gave them a gentle tug that elicited a moan from her. It was the sexiest thing I had ever heard in my life.

That's when I felt it, a burning ache rising between my thighs. I pulled away from Irina, ending our kiss and held onto her neck, looking down in embarrassment. I saw Irina's chest heavily rise and fall and when I looked back up her eyes were a dark caramel, smirking at me. _She can't smell it, can she? _I felt so exposed, yet I didn't really care when lips touched again and a cold tongue delved into my mouth, strong hips grinding into mine.

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	10. Chapter 9

**Updated.**

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

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" GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Four words spoken with the most vile poison lining their edges, growled in an animalistic manner. The sound seeped into my skin and traveled down the length of my spine, immediately making me push away from Irina' s intoxicating body. I could feel Irina go rigid and she sought out my body again with little result since I had moved away from her to see who had interrupted our heated match of tonsil hockey. It almost made me laugh when I saw who it was.

Standing in a blaze of fury was a lanky teenager with bronze tinted sex hair. Nothing was at all intimidating about the boy, in fact he, as I said before, looked comical. He was pale white, maybe even more so that myself, and his face was disturbingly flat and square. It almost looked like ...

A shovel.

I couldn' t hold in my laughter then. It burst from my throat in huffed airy breathes, no strong guffaws but the kind of laughing you do when you laugh so hard no actual sound comes to fruition. Through my watery eyes I could see the man staring at me in rage and Irina smirking at me, hungrily. I shut up right away when the man advanced on me. One second he was a scrawny kid and then he was... still a scrawny kid, but one with murder in his eyes.

" What the hell are you laughing at? " He ground out after Irina stepped in front of me, blocking his path. The two looked at each other with malice but the boy' s attention was obviously on me.

I looked at him and wore a sheepish smile. "I don t think you would like the truth. "

His eyes flashed dangerously and seemed to darken to a caramel color.

"You had better leave now, or I will make you pay for becoming involved with my family."

I probably should have known not to question his authority and kept my mouth shut, but of course, I had to get a shot of courage at the completely wrong times.

" I see you have an obvious problem with my being here, and I would love to insult you for your rudeness, but I don t think I could do as well as nature did." My insult was directed at his posture, face, stupidity, and really him as a whole, which could be a bit vast for a dumbass such as himself. It definitely connected for him though, even if it took a few moments. When he did get it he lunged forward, pushing a shocked Irina to the side. I watched his hand raise above me, pulling back to swing forward and I brought my hands up instinctively to block his attack. My eyes shut tightly and I waited for impact.

It was just like at home.

A deafening crack sounded throughout the hall, tearing through the air like a gunshot. I felt nothing, at all. I timidly opened my eyes and dropped my hands slightly to see what had collided. Valentine was standing a few inches in front of me, his head tilted to the side and cheek burning with a crimson hue. I glanced nervously between him and the boy, who looked like he was about to vomit. Valentine turned his head towards the boy and started at him blankly.

" How many more problems must your ego create for us? You seem to think that we can easily clean up after your rash decisions." He asked, showing no emotion. The boy 's eyes shifted nervously. "Tell me, Edward, do you like being hated by everyone around you? Is it fun to piss off your family? It sure seems like you believe you can step all over those around you, so please tell me, do you like putting us in bad situations? "

Edward stepped back without saying anything and Valentine was immediately at him. He grabbed the collar of Edward' s shirt and whipped him against the wall. "ANSWER ME! " Hatred dripped off of Valentine, pooling on the floor of the narrow hallway.

"Valentine, calm down." It was Irina who spoke, her hand settling on Valentine s shoulder. "Ester 's fine, you don t need to make this issue any bigger than it already is. He will be dealt with. "

She spoke softly and Valentine looked to be cooling down, although he didn' t let go of Edward very quickly, instead spitting in the boy s face and violently throwing him onto the ground. Edward stayed down as Valentine turned to me.

"Go outside, Imriska is waiting for you. " I tried to object but he cut me off. "Now!"

That was all I needed to get me going. I was down the stairs and out the front door in no time. Imriska was outside as Valentine had promised and as soon as she saw me, she ran up and scooped me into a big hug. She held me for awhile before taking me by the hand and leading me toward a black mustang.

"We have to go." She said, opening the passenger door for me and ushering me inside. I held no resistance and slid into the leather seat.

Imriska went to go around the front of the car but she stopped just in front and looked toward the house. I watched as her expression morph into panic. I followed her gaze and upon seeing what she was, I understood why she was panicking. Both Tanya and Irina were running towards the car. I could even see another blonde woman with straight hair following close behind them.

Imriska bolted to the driver s side of the car and retched the door open, making me flinch from the force she used before sliding in and closing the door, locking both doors in the process. The keys were awkwardly shoved into the ignition and it took several times to actually start the car, but as soon as it was up and running Imriska put it into drive and surged the car forward, nearly running over Tanya who looked like her world was coming to an end.

The car peeled out onto the road, wheels screeching along with my strangled yelps as I tried to stay put in my seat. Imriska didn t stop to check if she had accidentally killed anyone but continued on.

I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the three women standing in the middle of the road, Tanya nearly crying and being held back by the unknown blonde who curled the distressed woman into her arms. Irina stood next to them with a blank face, like a statue.

I felt something in me change. It ripped into my guts and made me feel like my insides had been scooped out and replaced with pounds of coarse sand that scraped away at my insides every time I moved.

I heard a sharp intake of breath and glanced toward Imriska. She looked paler than before, somehow, and she looked like she was having trouble keeping her eyes from watering. Her mouth was twisted into a grimace that she was trying to cover it up. It looked like she was trying not to cry.

I felt the painful heat in my chest.

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	11. Chapter 10

**Updated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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I rushed through the apartment, running into things and knocking them over while Imriska followed behind lazily, picking up whatever I had dropped or overturned in my wake.

We had been in Alaska for several weeks now, and had decided to settle in a small town named Denali. It was cold, extremely so, but I liked it regardless. The snow was crisp and intricate unlike the kind you found in Washington that tended to be on the verge of becoming water, stuck in a state of slush. I spent most of my time outside, even though Imriska said I would get sick. It was all too wonderful being free to waste my time in the small two room apartment Imriska had rented for us.

Imriska in no way had the same outlook as me. Most of the time she would hide in the apartment and only came out when I bothered her nonstop. Even then she wasn't fully there, mind wandering and interests elsewhere.

"You're gonna be late." Imriska stated, not really that concerned.

"Yeah well, it's your fault I have to go to school in the first place." I scoffed playfully.

I had found out that the day we had visited Port Angeles Imriska had someone make a fake passport for me. It made sense because our only way to Alaska was by car or plane. Taking the car would mean that we would have to go through Canada and therefore crossing a border. I need not explain the plane option. All in all, it was great and dandy. That is until I noticed that Imriska had used my actual age, even though she used her last name for me.

Since I was only seventeen I had to attend school, which is why I was running around causing destruction within our apartment. I was late. Very late.

I grabbed my old messenger bag and stuffed a few notebooks that Imriska bought for me into it. I then turned to my friend. "I'm ready to go." She was wearing an oversized tee-shirt and a pair of sweats, and in no way cared as she got her keys before we both shuffled out the door. I kept quiet during the car ride since I knew Imriska hated mornings.

We pulled up in front of the large high school and Imriska unlocked the doors so I could get out. I didn't move, facing forward in silence. Imriska did the same until I spoke.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened that day?" It was a simple question, but Imriska never gave the answer, I had learned this after asking it every day. This time was no different as she sat silently.

"Fine." I said irritated, reaching for door handle and pulling on it, crawling out. I was about to close the door again when I heard her whisper something.

"I'll tell you." I turned and stared at her in shock. She would tell me? She gave a hand gesture that was stiff and continued before placing it back on the steering wheel, "Not now though, when you get home I'll tell you everything.

I nodded in slight disappointment, but knew it was better than nothing.

Surprisingly it didn't take long for the school receptionist to find my schedule, and I didn't have to suffer through some stupid speech about rules and stuff. I was in and out within five minutes. When I got out of the office I looked over my schedule to see what classes I had.

1 Biology, Mr. Harrow Room 206

2 English, Mrs. Macher Room 213

3 Human Geography, Ms. Quis Room 212

4 Team Sports, Ms. Tiff Gym

Lunch, Cafeteria

5 Calculus I, Ms. Denali Room 233

6 Study Hall, Ms. Denali Room 212

7 Latin I, Ms. Denali Room 232

It was a pretty good set of classes considering I hadn't been able to pick any of them. I was very happy that this school didn't have A and B days like my previous school. You would have two classes during one hour, but they would switch out depending on the day. The whole system majorly fucked up my day because I would never know which class I had to go to.

I looked at my schedule again and saw that Ms. Denali was in charge of my last three classes. She had to have a lot of patience if she had to deal with three groups of teenagers over the span of three periods. It was also funny that her last name was Denali. I just hoped she wasn't one of those teachers that were basically the spawn of satan. I wouldn't be able to deal with that for three hours.

Nevertheless, my first four periods went okay. None of the teachers made me introduce myself and I was able to keep to myself. Soon enough it was lunch, and as boring as it may seem, I ate in the library because I didn't feel like being shoved from table to table when people got irritated that I was there.

The food was disgusting, as school lunches usually are. I had managed to choke down the vile substances, one possibly being potatoes but I wasn't quite not sure, when I grabbed a book off of one of the shelves closest to me and began reading.

I was about a chapter in when someone tapped on the table I was sitting at, catching me off guard. My head whipped up, eyes wide, and I spotted a girl with short red hair standing on the opposite side of the table from me. She gave me a small, closed lipped smile before pointing at the book I was reading, and speaking.

"Do you mind if I borrow that for a minute?" She asked. I looked down at the book and pulled my hand up from under the table, pushing the object across the smooth wooden surface to the girl. She gave me a thankful look before plopping down in the chair opposite me, opening the book, and taking out a notebook. She then began furiously scribbling down notes.

"So, what's your name?" She asked suddenly after a few minutes. I had been sitting there, not really doing anything except giving off anxious vibes.

"Ester." I said without expanding or trying to start a conversation. The girl shifted her eyes to me from the book, slightly blank but calculating. Then she just smiled and introduced herself.

"I'm Nel," She said happily, "You're new right?" I nodded. "Cool, if you ever need any help getting around, or whatever, I can help you, kay?"

She had a happy go lucky feel to her. She obviously gave zero fucks about first impressions and made me feel secure because I felt like she was too kind-hearted to try to hurt me on purpose. Nel was like Imriska, but, you know, a lot less aggressive.

"Okay, thanks." I said with a slight smile which received a bright one from the red head.

"So-" Suddenly she was cut off by the warning bell. She frowned, looking like a kicked puppy and stood up while holding the book out to me. "You need this back?"

I shook my head, "No, I was just bored so I picked it up."

"Okay, cool." She shoved the book into her backpack and then slung it over her shoulder, completely ignoring the fact that she was supposed to check it out. "What's your next class?"

"I have Calculus in room 233." I replied and her face brightened.

"So do I! I can take you there if you'd like." She offered excitedly, to which I said yes and she took my hand and led the way.

It didn't take long to get there, but we still barely made it on time, rushing in right as the bell rang.

"Here we are." Nel said, pulling me to some desks in the back of the class. The teacher wasn't here yet so I just settled in next to Nel and talked to her a bit. Only a few seconds passed before I heard heels clicking on the tile floor and the teacher began to talk, finally in the class room. I wasn't looking forward, and when I heard the teacher's voice my face went pale.

"Hello class. Could you all please take your seats so I can take attendance?" Everyone sat at once, almost eagerly. I kept my eyes to my desk, too scared to she if it was her, I didn't know if I wanted it to be her or not. She started roll call.

"Jared."

"Here!"

"Caleb."

"Here!"

"Maya."

"Here." She didn't seem as enthusiastic as the two others.

Several other students were called before Ms. Denali stopped, pausing for a second and making my heart beat erratically.

"Ester Vance." She said quietly and I finally raised my head, locking gazes with Irina, her golden eyes piercing through me. I swallowed and raised my hand.

"Here."

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	12. Chapter 11

**Updated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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I had never wanted to escape a classroom so badly in my life before.

Generally, the classroom was where I was safe from the other students, who found it funny to pester and bully me, but the excited, almost gleeful looks that Irina was giving me somehow put me on edge. The whole class she had tried to pass my desk as many times as possible, and she wouldn't stop calling on me to answer questions. Even if they weren't hard, because it was the first day, I in no way appreciated the attention. Nel had to give me a few of the answers because I was caught unaware by the question, and I could tell Irina was cognizant of these interactions.

That brings about another issue, which is that Irina directed a bitter gaze at Nel. I watched how she tensed every time the redhead would point at something in my book, comfortably entering my personal space. Irina would grip her marker any instance that she caught sight of Nel placing her hand on my shoulder.

If I hadn't met Nel previously, away from the watchful eyes of teachers, I might have thought she was a schoolroom criminal the way Irina was acting towards her, but from what I could tell, Nel was any ordinary student, except she was absolutely brilliant, answering any problem correctly within seconds. I didn't see what was wrong.

Nevertheless, Irina's behavior persisted. She didn't display her annoyance past the disgruntled looks, so I decided not to say anything. Also, Nel looked almost amused by Irina's displeasure.

Maybe they just don't get along?

Before I could ponder the two's attitudes, the bell rang. At once I sprung out of my seat, which only Nel noticed over the sound of chairs scraping the floor and students talking. She raised a thin eyebrow at me to which I shoved my things into my messenger bag while letting her do the same, grabbed her hand, and bolted towards the door. She followed, managing to keep up with my frenzied steps.

We were nearly to the door when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Irina step forward, posed in such away that showed she was going to say something to me. Before she could do this though, a group of students rushed up behind Nel and I, wanting to get to their next class on time and effectively blocking Irina's path to me. I had escaped.

Then I remembered that I had two more classes with her. Shit.

I felt Nel's hand grip my own more tightly and pull me around to look at her. She made a weird face at me and asked in a voice riddled with restrained laughter, "What was that? You in a hurry to get to your next class?"

I sighed. "I was at first," I showed her my schedule, pointing at my last two classes, "But it seems that I have the same teacher for two more hours, just in different rooms." Nel took the paper out of my hand and looked at it more closely, giving me a cheeky smile after a moment. I gave her a questioning look.

"You don't have the same teacher from last period, you have her sister." My eyes widened and Nel laughed. "Yeah, that's how most people react, but don't worry, Tanya's really nice, and smaller than Ms. Denali. A lot more approachable."

"You call her by her first name?" I asked.

Nel smirked. "Well yeah, it annoys Ms. Denali, so of course I would call her by her first name. Tanya doesn't mind anyway." She smiles. "I've tried figuring out Ms. Denali's first name, but she guards it with her life. Tanya won't even tell me what it is."

"Why do you two hate each other so much?" Nel seemed surprised by the question.

"You noticed?" She asked and I nodded minutely. Her face screwed up. "It's not really that we hate each other, more that we just see things differently, schoolwise at least. But," She said, smirking at me, "The real question is what's your problem with her."

"Nothing." I cringed, having answered way too quickly. Nel smirk grew wider.

"Okay then, I totally believe you." She glanced down at her watch and her smile dropped. "Well, time to go. I don't have those classes with you, so try not to get lost, love."

I stuck my tongue out at her when I hear the pet name, to which she pretended to be hurt. We both started laughing.

"Alright, see you later, Ester." She raised her hand up in front of me.

I gave her a high-five and said my own goodbye before we went our separate ways, her going wherever and me going to Room 212. Hopefully Tanya would give me less attention than Irina did.

I was about a minute early. The door to the classroom was closed when I got to it and I tentatively reached for the handle and turned it. Peeking in I saw that there were only a few other students in the room. Quietly shuffling in, as to not make a disturbance because it was study hall, I found the nearest empty desk and sat.

Not a minute later Tanya entered, dressed in black slacks and a green shirt with an open red blazer. Petite and adorable with soft curls, but I couldn't really think that because I knew how scary she could sound. And look. Based on how the room somehow became even quieter at her entrance, the other students were aware of this as well.

"I assume you know how study hall works, so I'll just let all of you go about it." She said, scanning the students and stopping on me. She was obviously shocked to see me, but past that small slip of surprise she didn't give any other indications of her surprise. She just started going through papers at her desk and left me alone.

This carried on through the entire study hall and on into Latin. She checked my work every so often without many words, but wouldn't ask me any abrupt and unnecessary questions. It was nice.

I knew it wouldn't last though, and that thought was proven when the bell rang and everyone collected their things too quickly for me to keep. I was alone in the room when Tanya started walking towards me, paper in hand. She came up to my side and laid a hand on the notebook that I was going to place in my bag, trapping it against the desk. She looked straight into my eyes, and although she was a few inches shorter than me, I felt quite intimidated. She smiled sweetly.

"Hello, Ester." Her voice was low, not sexual, but definitely low. Kind of like a growl.

I swallowed thickly, "Hey."

She took her hand off of my notebook and leaned on the desk. "Am I correct to believe Imriska is hanging around town as well?"

I stared at her nervously, letting out a strangled, "Maybe."

"Good," The corner of her mouth raised slightly as she slipped a closed letter into my notebook. "I was hoping you could deliver this to her for me. Is that okay?" I nodded. "Thank you, little one." She got up and walked out of the room happily, but all I could think about was that she had used the same nickname Irina had when we first met.

Once I was collected, both mentally and physically, I walked home. Imriska had told me the day before that she could only drop me off in the morning because she worked later than I had to attend school. I had nothing against it, of course. The cold and snow were my friends, and the outdoors in general, so there were no complaints on my part. Especially since Imriska had gotten me thick clothes to wear.

"I'm back!" I yelled after unlocking the door and entering. "What are we-"

I stopped talking at the sight before me. Imriska was sitting on the couch positioned in the main room, and next to her was someone I never thought I would see again. He stood and regarded me carefully before locking our identical eyes.

"Hello, Ester." Valentine said aloofly, "I have some things I need to explain to you."

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	13. Chapter 12

**Updated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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"This is me telling you what's going on." Imriska said, passing by me to exit the room. She glanced at me briefly, smiled softly but sadly, and left, probably the entire building. Once the door closed I turned to Valentine with wide eyes and a question settled on my lips like fire.

"Why are you here?"

A smile spread on his face and his slender fingers brushed through his silky black tresses. He sat forward on the couch. "Well, nice to see you two, Ester." I didn't answer his playful greeting, he sighed dramatically. "Honestly, I could be doing many other things right now, like my boyfriend," I held back a gag at that unnecessary insert, "But here I am, trying to make your life a little simpler, well not really, and you," He pointed at me, "Are not being grateful in any way. I ought to leave right now, screw Imriska's threats." He slumped against the back of the couch and situated me with a childish glare.

"You're going to tell me what happened at the Cullens' place?" I asked hopefully. He smirked and stood from his seat.

"Yes, well, that was the point of my visit, but you aren't being all that nice to me, are you?" I was rather unamused by his teasing, but I needed answers, so I did what had to be done to get to where I needed to be in this conversation. I apologized. Even though I'm sure I didn't need to.

Valentine laughed. "You want to get on with this quickly, don't you? I guess I can understand, I'm an impatient person as well."

I could tell he was stalling again based on his nervous laugh and decided I had to prompt this discussion. "Why do you have to tell me what happened? Why not Imriska?"

Valentine tilted his head to the side, his long bangs shifting, and circled his gaze around the room before settling them on me. "To be honest, it's because she could end up dead for telling."

My face twisted to horror, "What?!"

"Oh yeah, it will make more sense once I tell you what you originally wanted to know," He looked to ponder his words a second, squinting his eyes, "And you know, once you believe the answers I have to give."

"VALENTINE." I was getting irritated. Why couldn't he just spit it out?

"Alright, fine, fine!" He frowned and looked at me like I had threatened to cut his hand off. "The Cullens, the Denalis, Imriska…."

I eyed him angrily because of his hesitation.

"They're all vampires." He whispered finally.

...

"Are you fucking with me right now?" I said lowly, pissed as all hell.

"No!" He shouted. "I mean, I hope not because that would be-"

"VALENTINE! This is not the time for your bullshit!" I yelled at him. He backed up with his hands raised.

"I'm not lying to you!"

"What do you mean you're not lying to me?! Who would ever believe that?!" I waved my hands around, trying to make him understand how insane he was being at that moment. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

His brow creased as he frowned. "Well, I'm starting to think you are rather stupid! Why would you think I would try to mess with you?"

I nearly laughed at his question. I mean really, who hasn't gone out of their way to get the better of me. It was always the same. The kids at school who taunted and pulled pranks on me, the people in town fixing me with disgusted looks. Even my own father, had made it very clear, that I held no important or special features, inferior to all around me. Why would it be different here?

I felt a hand on my shoulder, warm and reassuring, pulling my eyes to Valentine's steady gaze.

"You may not believe me now, but I can prove it." He said with determination low in his voice. Before I knew it I was dragged out of the room, out of the complex, and into the same black mustang Valentine had let us borrow to escape the Cullens.

He didn't say where we were going, but it didn't take long to figure it out. I would be a complete fool if I couldn't recognize the same building I had spent seven hours in that very day. We were at Denali High School. Valentine pulled up to the front doors, got out along with me, and headed straight for my seventh period classroom.

"Tanya!" He yelled, crashing through the door and making the blonde woman shift quickly towards him in her desk. She saw me and her brows knitted together. She stood.

"Valentine, what are you doin-" I had no time to react as Valentine dropped my hand and charged Tanya head on, nailing her in the stomach with his shoulder. I jerked forward ready to intervene, knowing from my passing with my almost rapist that Valentine was a force to be reckoned with, but before I could Tanya flew forward from her place on the floor and landed a solid punch right in the center of his chest.

It's bad enough that the two were fighting in the first place, but nothing could make the situation worse than the sound that emitted from the two bodies connecting. It was like a gunshot, or two boulders hitting at high speed. It left my body shaking and my ears ringing.

That was not something two normal people could do just by touching.

"What is your issue now, Valentine?" Tanya growled when the two separated, circling each other like predators.

Valentine smirked, which caused Tanya to visibly bristle. "I have something I have to prove," He said, glancing at me. I merely gaped and Valentine's smile widened, "But obviously, I have succeeded, so I no longer need your assistance."

He straightened up out of his defensive crouch and smiled charmingly at Tanya. She huffed displeased and stood tall. Them they both turned to me. Valentine was the one to speak.

"See? I wasn't lying." He said, completely pleased with himself.

My mouth moved but no words came out. I couldn't form the sounds to say what needed to be said, but then I realised there was nothing that needed to be said, nothing that could be said. I, of course, snapped out of it, and asked what I wanted to know.

"What are you two?" I asked.

"She," Valentine gestured toward Tanya, who looked toward him with a none too pleased expression, "Is a vampire, as I said before."

I stared at Tanya, she stared right back. Then I turned to Valentine.

"What are you?"

He pulled his shoulders back and breathed in deeply, his chest puffing out from the pressure.

"I'm an angel," He said. "And so are you."

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	14. Chapter 13

**Updated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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"I can't believe you don't have a cellphone." Nel teased while handing me a popsicle she had gotten at a corner store near the park we were sitting in. I shifted towards her and took the cold treat, smiling at her. The corner of her mouth quirked upward before she started to jest about my lack of technology again. "Really, girl, do you know how weird it was for me to get a call from a payphone? I usually associate those with my stoner friends. How did you even get my number?"

I laughed lightly. "I got it from the school directory."

"Well, whatever. You do know we are in Alaska, a cold place?" I nodded. "Then how stoned are you? No normal person calls their friend with a payphone to tell them to pick them up from a bookstore so they can buy ice cream and sit in the cold." I blushed at that. It really was strange to eat ice cream outside while it's snowing. I was surprised anyone even sold ice cream in Alaska. Guilty pleasures I guess.

"Sorry about that, I can't really feel the cold. Do you want to find someplace to warm up?" There was no need for her suffer because my body was weird.

"Nah, I'll be fine." She turned her head my way. "Now, what's wrong?"

"What? Nothing's wrong." She shifted on the bench, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, you were so okay you desperately looked up my number in the school directory and paid money to call me on a public phone." I looked down at the ground, embarrassed by how easy it was to read me. Then I felt Nel's hands cup my face and pull my head up so she could look into my eyes with concern. "Ester, what's going on?"

Can I tell her? Honestly, at that moment, I couldn't even dream of telling Nel that I had met a group of vampires, or that I also met an angel, that I am an angel. It was insane, I would sound insane. I thought Valentine was insane for telling me, it's the reason I'm here with Nel now. I had run away, leaving the school, Valentine, Tanya, and the stress behind. I didn't want to lose Nel as a friend because she thinks I've gone off the deep end.

So I lie. Well, not really, I just tell her a small part of the truth.

"I have a crush on Ms. Denali." That was not what I wanted to say. I cringed when Nel's eyes widened.

"What?!" She shouted. "Really?"

"Is that bad?" I asked. Homosexuality was foreign to some.

"Huh? Why would it be?" She cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Well, first she's my teacher, and second, she's a woman." I said. My hands tucked into my pockets, the popsicle eaten and stick dispose of.

"I don't care if you're into girls, I'd do Tanya if she'd let me." She let out a rough but pleasant laugh when my brow creased in confusion. "I'm pansexual, love."

"What's pansexual?" I asked dumbly. I knew heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual, nothing else.

"Ah, well…" She thought about it a second while pulling her legs up on the bench and resting her head on her knees, trying to find the right words. "It's kind of like bisexuality, yeah? But pansexuals can love not only the traditional male and female genders, but also transgendered, androgynous, and gender fluid people. I can pretty much be attracted to anyone."

"Oh, okay." I sounded so stupid.

"It's okay if you're unsure about my sexuality, or even about your own. It's not something you can control, nor is it something to get too whacked out about." She placed a hand on my shoulder and laid her head sideways on her knees, smiling all the while. She then popped up and gave me a devious look. "But really, don't think you can get away from telling me the details of your little infatuation with Ms. Denali. You've only known her for what, a day?"

"Well… actually, I met her about two weeks before school started." Telling Nel that I had previously met Irina wasn't bad, wasn't strange because she had been there for three weeks. Nel still pressed on, though.

"Okay, but that doesn't mean much. You probably didn't even have time to actually bond, and honestly, an attraction based on looks, means nothing to me." The redhead gestured with her hand and pressed her fingers to her temple lightly. "I would encourage you if she was another student or something, but a teacher won't even think about being with-"

"I made out with her."

"Wha-?" She looked as if her eyes would pop out at any second.

"She initiated it, but I got freaked out and we stopped."

A huge smile found its way onto her face and she playfully slapped my shoulder. "I can't believe you, you just stopped. Was she a bad kisser or something?"

"Nope!" I over exaggerated the pop. "Not in the slightest."

"Alright, so she's sexy, a good kisser, and smart." She counted on her fingers as she listed off the traits. "But, is she nice? I can't get her to talk to me personally so you have to fill me in."

"She's quiet." I shrugged. I really didn't know much about her after all. "I like her humor, and from what I've seen, she cares about those around her. Yep!" I nodded my head rapidly "She's nice."

"Then we," She reached up and adjusted the flaps of my jacket. "We are gonna go shopping."

What? "Why?"

"Because, you twit," She said lovingly somehow. "We're gonna get you your girl."

My life was getting more and more interesting.

I decided it was best not to tell her Irina was a vampire.

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	15. Chapter 14

**Updated. This is the chapter with the biggest change. I had to cut and add things, basically recreating the whole chapter, because it was a wreck.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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It had been two days since Valentine ripped my sense of reality to pieces, two days since I ran, and two days since I saw the ink covered teen. During those forty eight hours, I mostly tried to come to terms with the fact that everyone around me could possible try to kill and eat me.

Then came the third day. I was so high on anxiety that I just shut it out completely, taking up Nel's offer to go shopping. I tried not to think about the reason she wanted to take me shopping in the first place. That was for another time. At the time I was too busy trying to restrain Imriska from killing any shop attendants.

How had I managed to get Imriska to come on the little shopping trip with Nel and I? Honestly, an embarrassing amount of begging, and that's all I had to be to get a very disgruntled Imriska to come along, throwing threats of dismemberment toward me.

I had laughed. Deep down I knew Imriska would never hurt me, at least not on purpose. She had a quick temper and didn't like people, but she never became physically violent. Although sometimes she would puff up in a way that warned of a coming altercation if the person didn't back up. All in all, she was a good person. She had taken me in without question.

So I knew I had to make it up to her, make her understand that I trusted her. Asking her to go on a shopping trip seemed like the simplest and most nonconsequential way at the time.

Entering our shared bedroom, I found Imriska sitting on one of the two beds she had somehow managed to cram into the tiny room. She had a small plastic trash can by her feet on the floor and was shredding a piece of paper and throwing the pieces into the trash. On closer look, I saw that it was the letter that Tanya had had me give her. I didn't want anymore reason to talk about vampires so I ignored it, instead asking Imriska to come.

Now that we were at the mall, I didn't quite like the situation I had gotten myself into. Nel was bouncing off the walls and Imriska was religiously avoiding all contact with her, moping off to the side.

"Why are you acting like this is killing you?" I asked the woman when Nel wandered off to find a restroom. I glared slightly, regarding Imriska, who gave me a disinterested shrug from across the table we were sitting at.

She rolled her eyes. "Ester, I'm twenty-four, you are seventeen, your friend probably is as well. I'm in a totally different element than I'm used to, and Nel's been on a sugar high since we got here. the girl interests me, but right now she has had too much of something. I'm not exactly thrilled."

"You're twenty-four?" She looked at me blankly and nodded, "That's just as a hum-, nevermind." I stopped myself before bringing up anything. That topic was the reason I was here, avoiding confrontation.

"I'm twenty-four human wise, a hundred and twenty-four vampire wise." Imriska said bluntly, looking at me halfheartedly. "I've been like this a while. Listen, I can tell you're uncomfortable with me, so why did you ask me to go out with you? Just go hang out with your friend, I'm being a nuisance."

"Can you just shut up and enjoy something for once?!" I snapped, Imriska's face dawning bewilderment. She needed to stop. "Yes, I'm fucking uncomfortable, but it's not specifically because of you. I just found out vampires exist and that I likely have a brother."

I huffed out a shaky breath. Imriska stared at me with wide eyes, unable to find words, something that rarely happened.

"I'm terrified, but I know I can trust you. Stop pushing me away because you think I hate you for being something you couldn't avoid. I'm apparently just as fucked up as you are, so stop being a bitch about it!"

The silence that settled between us made me freeze. My mind concluding at once that I had gone too far, insulting Imriska and ruining our friendship, but the notions couldn't form for long. A string of lighthearted snickers fell from Imriska's lips as she hid her eyes with one hand. She removed her hand from her face to show eyes wet with tears caused by amusement.

"There is nothing intimidating about you!" She burst, a huge grin on her face. "Every time you yell your hair kind of bounces, it's adorable!"

I didn't know whether to be upset or happy that the woman was back to her usual teasing and care-freeness or not. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, smiling, and reached out and took my hand in hers.

"Fine, just this once I'll play nice for you"

"Thank you."

Just then Nel returned, amazingly less hyper than before.

"Sup bitches, what did I miss?" She asked with a soft smile.

"Just being scolded about wanting to leave." Imriska said with a genuinely happy expression.

I heard Nel snicker next to me. "You really done already, hun? I thought you had more in ya?" She said teasingly, leaning forward and flashing a wide grin at Imriska.

The woman huffed. "Shut it, twerp." She bit out in exasperation. "You two never stop. I mean, how can you spent hours looking at clothing? Just get the shit done." She then looked toward me. "This is why I shop for you."

I stuck my tongue out at her, "I'm not that bad, honestly Imriska."

"Stop being such drama queens, you two. We've got one more shop, so you-" Nel jabbed her finger at Imriska, which earned widened red eyes, "Shut up and stop being such a wuss."

The exuberant redhead then grabbed the front of Imriska's plaid shirt and drug her to her feet, their faces only inches apart. Imriska tried to shuffle back but Nel followed in steps, smirking.

"Come on, moody. You can't run from me, I'll just catch you."

Imriska gathered herself and threw an amused look Nel's way. "Yeah, okay, good luck with that." Both mine and Imriska's smiles melted when Nel swiftly wrapped her arms around the vampire's waist and lifted her into the air, before walking away with the other held captive over her shoulder. Imriska struggling the entire way.

I had to run after the two, having been frozen in my chair. I couldn't tell if Imriska really couldn't get away or if she was just pretending to appear human. She was just pretending wasn't she? She had to be.

"Ester! Come on!" Nel yelled at me.

I turned toward where the redhead was calling and stopped. The small teen was walking straight into a lingerie shop, not even looking embarrassed. Without thinking I ran in after her.

"Why are we here?" I asked quietly, as if I was in danger of being found by some evil foe.

My behavior made Nel laugh loudly as she set a ruffled looking Imriska back on her feet. The black haired woman glaring daggers at her.

"To get underwear, and bras, and shit like that, duh." She said as if I was stupid for asking. I wasn't, I didn't need the things I saw in that store. Nel didn't give me the time to protest though, pushing me toward a rack.

"Look around. I'm gonna find a seat for moody over here." Nel took a quick look over Imriska, her eyes holding a heavy, almost sensual energy that made me crease my brow. Nothing could be said though, because at once I was alone, Nel leading Imriska by the hand to the other side of the store, where I hoped there were actually chairs not just places to makeout. Bleh.

As expected, the fancy undergarments were not for me. Everything was so see-through and open, two things I generally associate with clothes that had reached the point of disrepair, not something I wanted to spend any amount of money on.

I lazily shuffled through yet another rack of unutilitarian pieces, trying to figure out why any of them were considered valuable, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. My heart nearly crawled up my throat when I turned and found Tanya standing behind me with the straight haired blonde woman I had seen the night Imriska and I fled the Cullen house.

"Hello, sweetheart." She said happily, obviously in a better mood than all the other times I had seen her.

"Uh… hi?" Never in my life had I talked with so much grace. My face reddened immediately. Damn my shyness.

The nameless blonde woman let out a small raspy laugh, lips turning into a wide smile, golden eyes bright. "You're cute."

I felt my face burn hotter, red reaching up toward my ears. I heard Tanya laugh as I stared towards the floor. It was embarrassing enough that I had been caught by my teacher in a lingerie shop, but I also seemed to strive to dig a deeper hole for myself by acting so guilty and graceless.

"Yes, quite adorable isn't she." Tanya laughed, leaning, but not really having to, to look me in the eyes. She tilted my face back up. "Did you get my letter to Imriska?"

The other blonde stiffened and her smile dropped. Tanya shift towards her, taking her hand in her own and smiling reassuringly. She then turned back to me with an expectant expression.

"Oh! Yeah, I did." I said quickly while straightening my back, eyes wide. Tanya smiled widely but the woman next to her only relaxed slightly.

"Good, did she say anything?" And that was something I didn't want to be asked. I couldn't very well tell Tanya that Imriska hadn't touched the letter for days after I gave it to her, or that when she did the red eyed woman had torn it up. I didn't even know if she read it or not.

"No, she hasn't." I chose, leaving me with the mask of not knowing.

"Oh." Tanya said softly with a bit of disappointment. She put a smile on her face soon after and continued, turning to the other blonde. "Oh! This is my sister Katrina." She said excitedly, causing their hands to sway together. Katrina had a closed lip smile and shook my hand without warning, simply taking my hand in her own. It was cold.

"You can actually call me Kate. Nice to meet you, kid." Kate said. She dropped my hand and winked at me. I, of course, blushed.

"Hey Ester, did you find anything- Tanya!" Nel almost skipped over to us and gave Tanya a big hug, and even though Nel wasn't that tall she still towered over the blonde. They separated soon after.

"So you've made friends with Ester, have you?" Tanya asked with amusement.

"Well of course." Nel admonished. "I am the most likeable of them all."

Tanya laughed. "I'm sure my sister has a different opinion on that."

"Yeah, like her opinion matters." Nel's tongue stuck out between her teeth as she grinned. "You ever gonna tell me her name?" Tanya looked to ponder the question awhile before grinning.

"No."

"Meh. Fine." The redhead scrunched up her nose.

Just then Imriska joined us, perfect make-up and brooding expression. She walked up behind Nel and took the student's hand in her own, staying close and looking between Kate and Tanya.

"Hello, Imriska." Tanya greeted, and I couldn't help but notice the strain in her voice, like she could barely contain a fiery rage boiling just below her skin. Even her arm moved with a robotic motion when she reached out to brush her hand against my friend's arm.

Imriska shifted just enough so that Tanya's hand missed her and met thin air, coming back down to her side. Tanya frowned in sadness and Kate glared at Imriska, who returned the hateful gesture.

Tanya looked at me again, a twitching smile on her face, "Ester, Irina is here, I think she would like to speak with you." I felt Nel lightly elbow me in the side and her wide grin was unmistakeable even out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh...um...okay." No matter when I met Tanya or her family it was always a stressful situation. Especially when Imriska has a bitch battle with the small blonde's sister. Kate or Irina.

"Good, I'll call her, she's just a few stores away." The call was quick, really quick. I don't know why I was expecting any less.

It didn't take long for Irina to get there either. Her hair was up in a bun and wearing black short shorts, a sleeveless blue button up, and blue stilletoes. Sex on legs.

"I'm leaving." Imriska announced suddenly. Everyone looked at her as she started to walk away, Tanya actually following her and grabbing her hand.

"Hey, don't ignore me. You can't act cold towards us and simply leave after." Tanya searched Imriska's cold eyes. "Do you not feel anything?"

Imriska briefly looked at the rest of us before focusing on Tanya. Her eyes held the coldness from before mixed with uncertainty. There was sadness and anger all at the same time.

"I feel as little for you as your girlfriend does for me." She nodded toward Kate, who glared. "Even if I did feel anything, my fear for you would greatly overpower my attraction. So shove off." With that she ripped her hand from Tanya's and briskly walked away. Nel gave a confused and apologetic look then followed Imriska.

I was stunned to say the least. I thought the day was going well, but that changed very quickly.

"It's fine." I heard Irina say. The three sisters were standing together now, Kate and Irina gathered around Tanya, who was quite upset. Irina had directed the words toward Tanya but turned to me soon after.

"I apologize, we seem to be extraordinarily dramat-"

"I know what you are."

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	16. Chapter 15

**Updated.**

**If you've read this before I did revisions to any of the chapters I recommend rereading, especially Chapter 14.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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Tanya looked as if she had foreseen her own death, lain out like a train wreck in front of her, even though she had been part of what proved to me that death didn't always mean the end. She probably had hoped I would just keep the revelation to myself.

Irina was much more reserved than Tanya, but still had a none too pleased expression. I couldn't tell if she had been informed of my witness to Tanya's and Valentine's altercation at school.

Tanya moved us to a dressing room that wasn't populated in the store. There Irina finally stated her concerns.

"Who told you that?" She nearly growled the question. "Was it Imriska?" Her tone was accusing, and I became rigid at the sound of the underlying threat directed toward Imriska. Obviously Tanya had not told her.

"No! Don't talk as if she's done anything wrong. She wouldn't tell me what was going on for so long." I challenged.

Tanya then piped in. "So it was Imriska who originally told you, then?" She asked. Irina gave her sister a questioning look at the word originally.

"Not at all, she was too afraid to tell me anything, saying she would be killed for telling me." I huffed at the memories of all the times she backed off when I wanted answers. "It was fucking irritating."

"Who told you then?" Kate asked, making me remember her presence. She was the calmest of the three, a bit excited actually, a smile plastered on her face.

I didn't answer. I had no idea what they would do if I told them Valentine had filled me on on all the weird shit going on. Imriska was afraid because she was a vampire herself, it could have been the same for Valentine since he was of supernatural origin as well.

My silence dragged on until Tanya spoke what I dared not to.

"It was Valentine." It was spoken softly, as if anyone around was a spy. The quick jerk of my head was enough to verify her statement.

"You're his…" Kate started, stopping as her lips pulled into a bigger smile than before. "Well shit, this is an interesting change of events." It was a bit eery how much she behaved like Imriska.

"I'm his what?" I asked.

"His sister, right?"

"I'm an only child." Playing dumb seemed to be the best option for , I had always believed I was an only child before all of this anyway. Valentine hadn't even confirmed it yet.

"Says who?" Kate was childish, that was for sure.

"Me." I said, a bit irritated by her need to question something I would be very aware of. "I grew up with my father, no one else." It was said bitterly. Tanya, of course, noticed.

"What about your mother?"

I bite my bottom lip briefly and looked Tanya straight in the eyes, unwaveringly. "She's dead, died when I was eight."

Talking about my mother was never something I did. With my father blaming me for her death, it just seemed like a taboo topic to me, and to be totally honest, I somewhat blamed myself as well. Even if it was impossible for me to have done anything.

Kate's face had gone blank, visually sickened by the idea of my mother being dead. Tanya looked just as upset, but neither as distressed as Irina, who looked about ready to kill someone and faint at the same. She swiftly slipped her arms around my waist and brought us together in a strong hug. I hugged back, clinging to her slender body.

She was cold, an aspect of vampirism that Imriska had taken the time to tell me about, although I enjoyed the feeling. If sitting in the snow and eating ice cream with Nel didn't bother me, hugging a cold vampire wouldn't. It was actually comforting.

I wasn't one for physical contact though, and even with the embrace being comfortable, I got anxious and eventually pushed away from Irina. Hurt was evident on her face at first, but disappeared when I took her hand in mine.

"You guys don't have to get so freaked out." I said with a bit of laughter.

They all brightened somewhat, happy I wasn't a hot mess about the situation.

"We have experienced the loss of our mother as well." Tanya said grimly to which my eyes widened. "It's only natural that we would feel vulnerable hearing about your mother." She smiled then, as reassurance. I didn't know who it was directed towards, but whatever.

"Oh... I'm sorry." Growing up without real social interaction made it nearly impossible for me to figure how to go about such a tense subject. I had only ever been shown cruelty and hate.

"It's nothing you have to apologize for, you aren't responsible and we have had plenty of time to come to terms with it." I could only imagine how long.

Irina squeezed my hand to get my attention. "We didn't have a father though. It would have helped us through mourning."

Kate smiled. "Yeah, that must have helped you a lot, having someone loving with you."

That hit me hard. A loving father It was so far from reality it made me want to cry, and I almost did. I could feel the tears stinging the rims of my eyes, like tiny bug bites. My head fell, my chin just about resting on my chest, trying to hide my vulnerable state.

"Yeah, no, not really." It was clipped, and I cringed at the shakiness in my voice. It triggered a desperation in the three blondes, who couldn't have known what was wrong.

"What did he do?" The question was spoken with perplextion and pre expressed horror. Irina's eyes were dark when I locked them with my own. The color was startling, yet I wasn't afraid. She still made me feel safe even though my natural instincts urged me to flee.

"My father's definition of love includes unquenchable anger and permanent scars. Really, it shouldn't be called love at all." I could have told them that they had just misunderstood, or I had worded it wrong, but I didn't. I had had enough of the lies I had to weave to protect my father.

All three followed the motions of shock, then confusion, and finally settled on anger, seething. Nothing was said, but the rage poured off of them in hot waves. Irina was about to speak but I had had enough of the whole debacle.

"Don't. I just want to go home." My hand was raised in a silencing gesture which, to my surprise, actually worked. I then turned to leave, dropping Irina's hand. The apartment wasn't far from the mall so it wouldn't be difficult to walk home, even though it was snowing. Irina grabbed my hand again to stop me.

"Where are you going?"

My gaze travelled from our locked hands, up her arm, and to her face where I leveled her with a disinterested look. "Home."

Her head jerked back at my snippy tone, but she quickly recovered. "Well, why don't we give you a ride home? It's cold."

"I like the cold." I said and the three didn't know how to proceed. I smiled. "Fine, but no questions."

They all nodded vigorously after a moment.

I kind of zoned out once we reached the car, not caring all that much. I did have to give the needed directions, but other than that we sat in comfortable silence until we pulled up in front of my apartment building. I got out, followed by Irina, who made sure I made it inside. I stopped just before we made it to the door and turned to the blonde beauty.

"Night, then." I said quietly.

"Goodnight, little one." She smiled, bright white teeth showing and making her even more beautiful. I could feel my cheeks heat up.

She went to turn away, and in some stupid display of bravery, I grabbed the collar of her shirt, bringing her around while simultaneously bringing her face down to mine, kissing her lightly on the lips. I didn't even give her time to register what was happening before dropping another kiss on her cheek and slipping inside.

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	17. Chapter 16

**Updated. Please reread the story, or at least Chapter 14 if you've read before to weeks ago.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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"She's gazing at you."

I glanced up from the papers on my desk to find Nel smirking at me and shifting her eyes to the left. I followed her gaze and immediately locked eyes with Irina, who had been shamelessly staring at me, although anyone else would have believed she had just zoned out.

I couldn't stop the small smile that formed on my lips. Ever since I kissed her a week ago, Irina had been sky high and almost criminally blatant in her affections. Every chance she got she would touch me, in a not at all perverted way but making the contact much longer and more intimate than would be normal between a teacher and student. No one seemed to notice though so I didn't make her stop, and if I'm honest, I kind of liked it. I definitely liked it.

Turning my attention back to the problem I was working on, showing little surprise, I spoke softly, "Yeah, I know. It's been a common occurrence the past few days."

"Really now?" I nodded minutely. "And why would that be? Anything in particular happen?"

"I kissed her." I knew it was a risky thing to say in a crowded classroom, but since the rest of the students were goofing off anyway I was sure no one would hear, and if they did they still wouldn't know who I was talking about. Besides, I was beyond the point of caring anymore. Nel was shockingly quiet as well, a strange and somewhat unwelcome change.

"What?!" It was a whisper but held the necessary urgency to alert me to the redhead's disbelief. "When?!"

"Last week."

"And you didn't think to inform me? Hurtful."

I let out a harsh laugh. "You are such a drama queen, Nel."

"I prefer social enthusiast."

"Mhm." I consented in an unconvinced tone. "Do you understand number eleven?"

"It's 12." It was disapproving and when I looked at her again Nel was pouting. "Spill, you little minx. How'd it happen? When?"

I sighed heavily, dropping my pencil and leaning back. "It happened after you guys left me in the mall like the assholes you are." It was kind of harsh to call them that, at least Nel, because she had tried to calm Imriska down, and when she came back for me I had already left with the Denalis. "They gave me a ride home and Irina walked me to the door. It was kind of cute, and before I knew what I was doing I kissed her."

"Do you regret it?" There was a question to answer. I looked over toward Irina and saw the rigidness of her posture. She can hear us. Dear god.

"No." I finally said. It wasn't an untruthful answer.

* * *

The bell rang, indicating the end of last hour and I happily hopped out of my seat, gathered my things and headed for the door. I stopped when I heard Tanya ask for my help, letting the other students pass through the door I situated myself in front of her desk.

"What's up?" I asked, letting formality fall from my demeanor as the last student leaves. Tanya smiled warmly at the familiarity I possessed with her.

"Yes, I was wondering if Imriska has said anything about the letter yet?" She said expectantly.

"No."

The silence that followed was comfortable and Tanya raised an eyebrow at me when I didn't say anything else.

"She ripped it up, didn't she?" She asked.

"Yep." I let out a heavy breath.

Instead of the sadness that had overtaken her features the last few times, Tanya laughed in an overly amused manner. She leaned back in her chair, which looked way too comfortable for work and sighed with a smile gracing her pink lips.

"She's such a little brat. I know she's young, but really, she acts like a child."

It was somewhat true, Imriska didn't act very mature. In fact, she hated the notion of acting any other way than immaturely. She was decent enough in wits to excel in her career as the manager of a bookstore, and she could care for herself, and me. That was good enough. She was fun and responsible when necessary.

But something didn't make sense to me.

"Tanya, if you don't mind me asking," Tanya looked up and waited patiently for me to continue, "Why do you want to talk to Imriska so much, and why does she hate you so much?"

Tanya let out a quiet laugh. "You ask hard questions. Last time I checked, that was my job."

Flustered I tried to backtrack, "You don't have to-"

"No, it's fine. Just, sometimes I wonder the same thing." She said sadly. Her eyes examined the mahogany wood of her desk, but it was obvious her mind was elsewhere.

"So…"

Her eyes snapped up to mine. "Oh I'm sorry." I waved it off and she carried on. "Well, the thing is Imriska and I are bound by fate."

"What does that mean?" I seemed to get even more confused every time I asked for explanation.

"Well to put it in simpler terms, we are mates."

I flicked my eyes about, trying to comprehend what had been said before zoning back in on Tanya and staring blankly.

She laughed.

"I see you fail to understand."

"Don't make it sound like I'm an idiot." Fake hurt stained my statement and she smiled.

"Of course you aren't, dear," She said sweetly, "Many people unfamiliar with vampires are confused when they hear about mates. So to tell you, mates are lovers that complete each other for eternity, they will never part unless by death."

"Okay…" This shit was getting complicated. "So why does she hate you then? That seems unconventional."

She laughs. "Yes, it would seem so, but some vampires, like human mates, can't feel the attraction to their mate or very little of it and have no idea. Imriska would be an extreme case, because she not only can't feel the pull, but she feels disgust instead."

"Well, shit."

"Indeed, but I won't give up on her."

I looked at her scrutinizingly, "Why?"

"Well," She had thoughtful expression on. "For one, I would forever be missing a part of myself...and so would Imriska, so she is bound to come around eventually. I can tell she is scared as well, which doesn't help either. Mates always end up running into each other though."

Imriska isn't going to like this.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Nel asked as she walked over to my locker where I was stuffing my stuff into my bag.

"Yeah… wait." Holding my bag open I shuffled through looking for my Latin notebook, which I needed to do my homework.

"You missing something?"

My face scrunched up. "Yeah, I think I left my notebook in Tanya's room. I have to get it, you go ahead."

"You sure? I'm only slow when you're with me. I'll be long gone." She teased and I punched her in the arm.

"Shut up and get out of here."

"Alright, alright, see you tomorrow." She waved and left, leaving me to walk the empty school halls to Tanya's room.

It took all of five seconds to get there and I rounded on the door, which was closed? Tanya never closed her classroom door unless she went home, when she locked it. I reached for the handle but stopped when cold pinpricks formed over my skin, making me feel out of place.

What the hell?

My hand came off the handle and instead I peeked through the small window by the side of the door, the shades are open but leave blades of white through my vision. My eyes widened and mouth opened slightly in shock. Inside the classroom, Tanya was pressed against her desk in a state of undress with Kate on top of her, pressing kisses to the smaller blonde's neck and hands wandering.

I yelped in panic and felt my heart stop when their heads jerked up to stare at me, almost as aghast as I was. Almost.

At once, I shoved away from the window, making an unnecessary amount of noise, and bolted down the hall, bag in hand and notebook forgotten.

"Ester!"

I didn't even have enough of a thought process to distinguish which of the blonde's the voice belonged to. I just ran.

I burst haphazardly from the front doors of the school and booked it down the street, nearly knocking my shoulder out when I shoulder checked a red haired woman on the sidewalk, who glared at me with dark... red eyes? I didn't give the observation much thought, just kept running. I could feel that slight burning I had been having in my chest, but it was dull.

Only a block away I realized that I was running toward the bookstore Imriska managed. I could see it and nearly collapsed, scuffling with a trash bag someone had left out. I was just coming to the corner when a familiar blonde waltzed around the corner, and into my line of retreat.

Mates always end up running into each other. Literally.

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	18. Chapter 17

**New chapter. If you're reading this, I did revise all the prior chapters, fourteen being the biggest in change.**

**Thanks to all who are reading, much love. Thanks to ****xtoujours purx**** for telling me about my uploading error, that could have messed up my whole story line.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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"Why were you running through the streets?" Her golden eyes were fixated on me, questioning me. I didn't blame her for her curiousity, I don't usually just book it through the streets of Denali.

"It was nothing."

Her eyes roll and she sighs in frustration, "Ester, you looked horrified when you knocked into me! That isn't nothing."

"For all you know I could have been horrified by the fact that I ran into you." I snapped.

"Well, I didn't know that seeing me in public would be such a problem for you," It was a teasing, almost flirty, remark that didn't hold it's politeness for long. "What is going on? You can trust me, Ester."

"If you couldn't be with your mate," I said in monotone, "Would you wait for them, or move on to someone else?"

"How do y-"

"Would you wait for them?" I cut her off aggressively.

"Yes, I would wait for them," She answered immediately, "I would never be able to move on to someone else."

"Then why can your sister?" It was asked accusingly and Irina stared at me in shock. I was glaring back at her and her face showed sadness, that I regretted putting there. She brought her hand up to her face, pressing her temples, and sighed.

"You don't know the full story."

"Really?" I asked with force and anger, "Because last I talked to Tanya, she told me should would wait for Imriska even if it took her a millennium to realize they were mates, and then not an hour later, I found her fucking Kate in her classroom."

"Enough!" Irina growled. I jerked back at the animalistic sound, Irina backing up to give me space. She looked conflicted, stuck between anger and the need to control herself.

"Tell me." Irina looked at me confused. "Tell me the full story. Everything in this world seems to have some twist to it, so tell me."

Irina sat us down on a sofa in the corner of the room and took my hands in her own.

"Some vampires have two mates," She explained, "It's rare, but still possible. Tanya and Kate mated long before Imriska came here."

"You act like she's been here before."

Irina tilted her head to the side with a confused look. "She has, she's the sister of Valentine's mate, Otakar. She comes around every so often to see him. Although, this is the first time we've actually met her, she's only ever met Otakar away from us."

"Wow, didn't know that."

"Really? I thought she would have told you." I shook my head.

"Well, Imriska and Otakar are quite solitary, so I'm not that surprised." Irina laughed. "Actually, about every one of us have pretty antisocial mates, now that I think about it."

That made me pause. 'Us'. Irina was referring to everyone… and her. My stomach dropped heavily.

"Irina…" I kept my voice as soft as possible. I asked, giving her a dead look, "Do you have a mate?"

"Yes, I do." She said with a hesitant exhale.

A disgusting feeling entered my body then. It pulled at my gut and I had to restrain myself from gagging at the felling. I couldn't pinpoint the emotion I felt I was feeling, but there was a good amount of anger. Jealousy was always an emotion I dismissed and discredited. I felt it too often for it to actually register. I swallowed thickly. Irina would be looking at me with concern plastered on her face, no doubt.

"Ester, are you okay?" Her hand came up to cup my neck gently, her concern multiplying when I pushed it away from me.

"You have a mate…" My angry gaze slowly met her wide eyes, "So what the hell are you doing with me?"

"Ester…"

I pushed past her then, heading straight for the door. I nearly made it, but a cold hand wrapped around my forearm, whipping me around to meet glassy golden eyes. She was panicking, nearly crying if it were possible.

"Stop…" I gasped when she went to pull me into her, "Please, don't use me, I'm sick of being used."

She snapped then. I was immediately pulled into her, one of her arms wrapping around my waist and the other reaching up so her hand was on the back of my head, pulling our lips together. The kiss was messy, completely unplanned, and Irina moved her lips against mine like she would fall apart if we separated. I could feel her body shaking against mine. Fiery, intense, any other desperate word could describe the meeting, but terrifying seemed best at the time.

I broke the kiss quickly and pushed away from Irina, who would not let me leave her embrace. I kept pushing, and that's when Irina started breathing harshly, face scrunching as sobs shuddered through her.

"It's you…" She sobbed, and I stilled.

"What?" I asked hesitantly.

"You're..." She swallowed, "You're my mate."

She kept repeating it, softly chanting it as her nose pressed into my cheek and her hands clung to my upper back. In turn, I placed one hand at the back of her neck and one between her shoulder blades, hugging her tightly. My eyes closed, my cheek nuzzled by the tall blonde.

"I'm sorry." I whispered into her ear once her shivering had calmed. I ran my hand up and down her back in a soothing motion, hoping it would free her of her last bit of anxiety. I could feel tears running down my face.

"I love you." She said, and I grabbed her face and kissed her so hard I thought my lips were going to bleed. I couldn't return the words, but the feeling of truly being loved for the first time in my life, that was enough to make my trust, for once, that I could be more than just a high school punching bag.

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	19. Chapter 18

**I had no idea where I was going with this chapter, I just stared at the blinking cursor forever. Thanks to my friend and a book I've recently been reading I was able to write this chapter. I have to admit, I am very proud of it. It should get some shit moving and be interesting enough for you guys.**

**Disclaimer: My OC's are awesome, I don't need to own Twilight's characters.**

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After Irina initially calmed down, I lead her over to the couch and sat her down. From there she refused to let me go and would start panicking at any movement I would make. Each time I would wrap myself more securely around her, letting her nuzzle her nose against my face and lay little kisses on my cheeks and nose. Once I could no longer feel her trembling, I backed away, Irina following close but not totally after me, and cupped the side of her face with my right hand.

"Are you okay now?" My thumb stroked her cheek and her head shifted in a small nod as she blink rapidly. It was like she thought she was crying and needed to wipe away the invisible tears as discreetly as possible. I smiled lightly at the little show of human behavior, kissing her softly before saying, "Good, I'm glad."

"I love you," She said for the second time that night. My chest filled with a pleasant heat, nothing like the burning I had experienced before. It was comforting and I felt myself leaning into Irina again. Her hand came up to mine on her cheek and our lips met a moment later. Irina was hesitant at first, and I didn't know what to do past that, but then she nipped at my bottom lip before sucking on it.

All inhibitions went out the window then and I quickly found myself on top of Irina, swallowing her startled gasp. I could feel her hands move down my body, touching her and there, and settle on the curve of my back. I moaned into her mouth when Irina pulled the back of my shirt up and smoothed her fingers along my spine, making me shudder as heat pooled between my thighs.

Irina suddenly pulled away from me and held me at a distance by my hips. I gave her a confused look and began to back away at the concern on her face, thinking I had overstepped a line, but her hands kept me firmly in place. Our eyes met and she tried to talk but ended up stumbling over her own words, which was endearing for a vampire normally so graceful. SHe tilted her head away from me and I reached a hand to the side of her face, forcing her gaze back onto my face. She looked at me in wide-eyed fascination as I leaned back in.

I nearly made it before the front door swung open and Valentine walked in, totally unaware that Irina and I were there and close to ripping each other's clothes off.

Valentine didn't even see us at first, turned too far to the left to get a good view of where we were sitting, but we still couldn't move fast enough. The black haired teen turned just as we thought to make ourselves presentable and his expression quickly bled from everyday indifference to disgusted horror. I was still straddling Irina, my shirt bunched up in the back, and lips swollen from kissing.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Valentine yelled, covering his eyes with a book he had grasped in his right hand. Both Irina and I pulled apart as fast as possible and stood from the couch, trying tidy our clothes. Once we were as put together as we could get, Valentine brought the book away from his face and gave us a unamused look.

"What the hell are you guys thinking doing that in the livingroom for!?" He admonished, "Anyone could have walked in here! The Cullens are due to be here soon. If Edward or Rosalie saw you two going at it they would fucking kill you!"

I cringed at the thought of the two rather unpleasant vampires walking in on Irina and I going at it. I had gotten the courage to backtalk him once, but there was no way I was going to have the guts to do the same in a situation like that. Rosalie was just plain terrifying.

"It's my fault," I stared at Irina questioningly, knowing full well it had been me who had lost control. Valentine had the same disbelieving mood about him and Irina glared menacingly at his in a silent order to not start anything, "I knew the Cullens were coming. I shouldn't have let it get that far, or let it get any farther if you hadn't showed up. I'm sorry."

Valentine and I gawked at the unnecessary apology. Valentine got over it the quickest, shaking his head in confusion before pushing it aside, "Whatever you say, Irina. Anyway," He turned to me, holding out the book he had used to shield his eyes, "I found something you might want to see."

I took the offered book from him and examined the cover. It was made of leather, filled with pages of hand pressed paper and bound with a strong brown cord. The leather had impressions of crosses and other Christian based symbols on it. If it weren't for the brass lock sealing the book closed, I'd have said it was just a person of faith's journal.

I glanced up at Valentine expectantly and he took the book back, using a paperclip to pick the lock, opening to the first page, then returning it to me. I took it and read the single line.

_Book of Fallen Angels_

I could feel Irina's curious eyes scanning the page from over my shoulder and when I brought my eyes up to her face she stared blankly at me. I sighed after reading the line again, trying to see what Valentine was seeing, "Valentine, what are you trying to get at?"

"The details are in alphabetical order, try looking in the k's," I did as he suggested, flipping to the section and scanning down the list. Each paragraph had a surname followed by a given name and a short description, which I didn't take the time to read, and nothing seemed all that important. Until I stopped on one name inparticular. Mine. My head jerked up to Valentine, and Irina grabbed my arm comfortingly.

"There's more," He whispered and my eyes slipped over the small paragraph.

_Kastle, Daniel M._

_Kastle, Jerome H._

_Kastle, Valentine G._

_Kastle, Ester M._

_Daniel Kastle is an angel descended from the archangel Gabriel. Having fallen after the massacre of the prophets of Jerusalem, Daniel is suspected of taking part in the atrocity, therefore committing not only the crime of falling, but also the killing of another. He is to be erased upon discovery along with his unholy offspring, who were born out of crime and adultery._

_Uncompleted._

"What the hell is this?" I growled, piercing through Valentine with my eyes. He sighed heavily and took the book from me, shutting it, and putting the lock back in place. He then waved the book in front of me.

"This is criminal logbook, but for angels." He explained, "Any crime committed by an angel is added to the logbook, and if a pure angel finds one of the convicted angels that managed to escape, they erase them. Although, it's not as nice as it's described." He threw the book down on the chair, "So guess what our father is."

"He's a fallen angel?" I asked, but the answer wasn't unknown to me. Valentine's nod only confirmed my idea. Irina looked at me worriedly as I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. Shit.

"We're born abominations because he went rogue, so now we're being hunted, just like him." His voice was between normal and yelling, it shook with his anger. He had little control left as he continued, "Another thing to add on to this bullshit as well, is that it is illegal for angels to fraternize, or create relationships, with demons. Ever though we are crimes in and of ourselves, we are still considered angels, so we are breaking another law for having demon mates: vampires."

Irina hugged me around the waist, nuzzling my neck protectively while still staying out of my view of Valentine. This was all going the hell. Nothing about my life had been easy up until Imriska took me in. I feared my father, but never would I have thought this of him. Now I was terrified of him.

I looked down at the discarded book and thought about the log carefully. There had been four names on it. Mine my father's, and Valentine's, but there had been one more, "Who's Jerome?"

Valentine's gaze saddened and I grabbed onto Irina's arm that was around my waist for support. Valentine's eyes watered slightly, eyes blinking away the tears just like Irina had imitated earlier, "Jerome was our older brother, he died trying to protect us for dad. He sent me to the Cullen's, but dad got to you two before Jerome could get you somewhere safe."

My stomach dropped and a sob broke from my lips, tears straining my cheeks. I had had two brothers my whole life but never known, and one was already gone. Valentine was all I had when I should have had both him and Jerome for support. Valentine was all that was left.

"Where the fuck did you even get this?" I sobbed, anger slicing through the sadness. I would kill whoever tried to take away the little happiness I had gained these past few months. Valentine knew from my voice and expression. His frown did nothing to calm me.

"Imriska nicked it from your little redheaded school friend," My heart sank. I thought it had to be a mistake, but then Valentine looked me dead in the eyes, "Nel Parker was her name."

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